~Time skip three weeks (Oh Blaze it hurt to write that title)~

Nagisa had gathered the entire class together in a small clearing in the forest. I was sitting on a boulder embedded into the ground while Itona and Asano stood beside it. Karma was leaning on a tree away from everyone else. Nagisa brought up the idea of saving the octopus. Some were for it. Others were against it. Me and the others said nothing. Just watched. Karma and Nagisa started fighting again. Only this time Karma was getting angry. Very angry. I could see Karma's fangs growing slightly. Nagisa looked up his eyes turning into slits and shinning with bloodlust. Karma's eyes turned into slits almost instantly and the temperature of the area skyrocketed. "S*IT!" Me and the other two yelled. Karma pushed Nagisa back. Once, twice, three times. Then Nagisa pulled ouT A FLYING TRIANGLE CHOKE! HOLY F*CKING S*IT! I could tell things were about to get worse. I clapped my hands loudly. The sound traveled across the clearing silencing everyone. "THAT'S ENOUGH OUT OF THE BOTH OF YA!" I shouted in a very threatening tone. Nagisa and Karma broke apart and stood away from eachother. Karma growling lowly to himself his eyes still slits. Nagisa looked at the ground in shame realizing he had just lost his cool. "What has gotten into you both!? This is not how Phantoms should treat eachother! We are a team for demon gods sake!" I shouted. They both avoided my glare. I sighed slightly and shook my head. "I knew this was going to happen one day. You're too different. Though I was hoping I would have more time to prepare for this." I said more or less to myself. Koro-sensei showed up. He decided we would settle this with a paintball war. Red for kill. Blue for save. Me and the other Phantoms watched as everyone else chose sides. "Well team Phantom. Who do you choose?" Koro-sensei questioned. I snapped my fingers and me and everyone else from team phantom including Nagisa and Karma had shadows wrap around them and change them into our new Phantom uniforms. Mine was pitch black with (F/C) gloves. We had our masks on as well. I had to mask all my emotions for this one. No playing favorites. "This little fight doesn't have one purpose. Karma and Nagisa are Phantoms. Not only that but both of them have maxed out their stats. Therefor, as per Phantom tradition, they must undergo the Phantom Trial." I stated. Everyone including the other Phantoms looked at me in shock. "Phantom Trial?" Nagisa questioned. "Wait we maxed our stats? WHEN THE HELL DID THIS HAPPEN!?" Karma shouted in shock. "Let me explain what the Phantom Trial is first." I said. I took a deep breath and masked all emotions. "The Phantom Trial is a right of passage for any new Phantom. Passing the trial proves that you no longer need me to teach you. If you pass you become a full fledged Phantom. If you fail then you have to continue training until you pass." I explained. 

"The Phantom Trial has many forms. Sometimes there is a set goal you need to reach in a limited amount of time. Sometimes it's a retrieval mission. Sometimes it's a mix of things. In other words it's completely random. But we, however, are pressed for time." I said. I looked down slowly and then smirked. I looked up my eyes turned into slits under my mask, shining with bloodlust. "So your Phantom Trial will be to defeat someone who has mastered the element of Shadows. In other words me." I stated darkly with a sinister smirk. A shadow had covered my form adding to the creepy and sinister factor. The look on Nagisa's face was priceless. "WHAT!" He shouted his voice cracking a little. Karma didn't say anything. "But that would be a little strange." The red head stated causing everyone to look at him. "If you fight one of us than that means you'd be weaker and more tired out when you go to fight the next one." He stated. I chuckled darkly. "As logical as ever I see. I knew that as well. Remember I do plan ahead. So ever since I've noticed your little squabble I've been training a certain someone until they mastered the shadow element. Day and night." I stated. Every Phantom's gaze flew to the strawberry blond who smiled tiredly. "Yeah. I'm not as strong as her since I am a snake hybrid and she can still kick my a*s if she wants too but I'm close enough to give her a run for her money." He said then yawned. "It took a lot of work. Especially since we only had three weeks. I thought it would've happened later but I'm glad Asano is a fast learner he finished his shadow training two days ago." I stated proudly. "So that explains why you've been so lazy recently!" Itona said. We both nodded. "So (Y/N) have you decided who I'm going to be assigned too?" He questioned. I put my thinking face on. "I'm still working on that." I admitted. "I'll take Nagisa then." Asano stated. "Care to explain or are you just afraid of your twin?" I questioned with a smirk. "I'M NOT SCARED OF KARMA WHY DO YOU ALWAYS ASSUME I'M SCARED OF KARMA!?" He shouted.   

I laughed. "I'm just teasing Starburst chill." I said. He grumbled something under his breath. "The reason I choose Nagisa is for two reasons. One, if Nagisa faced you he'd be scared out of his wits. Two, Karma's been itching to fight you. You know this." He responded. "Fair enough." I said calmly. I turned back to the others. "It's been decided. Karma will be fighting me and Nagisa will be fighting Asano. Be prepared. We'll take you into the void of shadows for our match so I hope you're ready." I stated. "What will I be doing then?" Itona asked. I snapped my fingers and a paintball gun and knife with paint on it fell into his hands. The paint used was purple. "Use this as a training experience." I stated. He nodded in understanding. "If you're a Phantom remain in uniform until I say otherwise. Understood?" I questioned. "Aye ma'am!" The all shouted in unison. "Very good. I wish you all the best of luck in your respective tasks. But remember, once this is all over we will be a team once again. No more fighting. I hate seeing people I consider family fighting. Until we all meet again I bid you adieu." I stated. I stood up on my boulder. Did my normal bow. And then shadowed away.

~Time skip brought to you by a chibi Author-Chan preparing to write a fight scene~      

I waited in the shadows watching Karma. He was sitting on a rock with Rio next to him. "Rio if I don't answer any calls assume that I'm fighting and take charge." He told her. "Right." She responded. Karma was ordering his team around like a pro. I guess I did teach him well. Rio left and now Karma was sitting alone. Welp here we go. I thought. I pounced faster than lightning and dragged Karma into the shadow void. We stood opposite eachother. Fake knives held at the ready. I took a breath. 'Let's do this.' I signaled. (Play music)  

We circled eachother not removing our eyes off of eachother. Watching for any sign of attack. I charged first and swiped at Karma with my knife. He ducked and tried to sweep my feet out from under me. I back-flipped away and went into shadow mode. I appeared behind him only to get hit with a fiery punch right in the gut. I backed away slowly trying to recover. Karma didn't let up on the pressure. I had to block a lot of punches and kicks. I stepped forward a little placing my foot behind Karma's and elbowed him right in the face causing his mask to fall off. He just smirked taking the hit like it was nothing. Right, he had me use him as a punching bag for a few weeks. We scuffled in close combat for a while until I jumped over his head and tried to stab him. He blocked my knife with his knife. I back-flipped away a few times and he charged at me again. He attempted to stab me but I blocked his knife quickly before landing a good solid punch to his gut. He was thrown back a little but got right back up. He charged again only this time I used a shadow to bat him away. Sneaky b*stered jumped over the shadow and sent a wave of fire right at me. This escalated into using magic. I wrapped a few shadows around him but he waited until I was coming up close for a hit then burned them off and kicked me right in the face. This caused my mask to fly off as well. I was thrown to the ground and he jumped up and tried to stab me again. I rolled away just in time and kicked his knife away. I jumped up and punched him while his gaze followed his knife. With him on the ground I tried to stab him the exact same way but he kicked my knife away. My gaze didn't follow the knife I jumped back before he almost kicked my face again. He grabbed a fake gun and tried to shoot at me. Red paintballs. I dodged them quickly just as fast as normal. He ran out of ammo so I took my chance. Running in a zig-zag pattern I ran up as fast as I could and reached for a pressure point. He grabbed my wrist and judo-flipped me right over his head. I rolled away just in the nick of time. I went into shadow mode and swirled around his head until he used a wall of fire to push me back. He tried to punch me but I blocked it then tried to kick him. He blocked it and did the same elbow move I did. That was enough to get me to bend over slightly and before I knew it I was hit with a F*CKING AXE KICK! I couldn't move, temporarily paralyzed. He walked away and grabbed his knife. He walked back over and attempted to stab me but I rolled over and caught his wrist before his knife got me. He growled lowly and had me pinned to the ground using both his hands to try and push the knife down on my chest. I used both my hands to hold his wrists and knife away from my chest. He was using his weight to keep me from moving much and the heat he was admitting kept me from going into shadow mode. I was stuck basically. I was using all my strength to keep his knife away from hitting me. If he got me he'd pass. He'd know he was better than me. My pride wouldn't allow that. My determination and pride were the only things keeping me from losing currently. Just like always I would be stubborn until my strength gave out. My (E/C) eyes glared into his golden eyes. I could see fierce determination in his eyes. No malice, no hatred. He just wanted to prove himself. 

My eyes softened slightly at that realization. I sighed and closed my eyes. If it comes down to pure strength I'm screwed anyway. I told myself. My determination faded leaving pride the only thing keeping him from winning. I chuckled slightly. "So it finally comes down to this." I said my voice echoing around the dark void. I sighed again. "I really don't want to lose. Or is that just my pride talking? Who the f*ck knows anymore?" I questioned. I opened my eyes. Karma's eyes still showed determination to win but also confusion. "Pride is the one negative trait I can't get control no matter how much I try. Ever since I was younger I refused to admit defeat to anyone. Even my own parents. My pride won't let me admit when someone has surpassed or bested me in anything." I closed my eyes and took a breath. "Out with it (Y/N) so you can go home and take a nap." I told myself. I opened my eyes. "Red Devil. Ever since you've started your training you have worked hard and learned many things. I have nothing left to teach you. You have passed the Phantom Trial and are now a full fledged Phantom. Congratulations. Where you go know is up to you." I said. Tears formed in the corners of my eyes. I smiled up at him. "I'm very proud of you and as much as it hurts to see that one of my students doesn't need me anymore I will support you as your friend and fellow Phantom. I am no longer your teacher." And with that I let go of his wrists and knife and let him stab me. He sat there confused for a good minute or two. "Wait did I just...win?" He questioned. I sighed in annoyance. "Yes you just won now get off of me!" I shouted pushing him off. He just layed on the ground in shock. I sat up and turned my back to him. I was proud. I literately could not be prouder of him. But I was also scared. Scared of what he might do now that I wasn't his teacher anymore. He sat up and started laughing. "Oh my God I just won! I can't believe it!" He said. "I honestly didn't think I would win but holy s*it!" He said. His excitement caused me to chuckle a little bit. I didn't say anything and just sat there in silence. "Is there something wrong?" He asked. S*it. "No. I'm fine. In fact I'm proud." I said while chuckling. "You've finally beaten me. There isn't a word on the planet to describe how proud I am right now." I said. I grew silent again. "Don't lie to me." He growled. "I'm not lying. I am proud." I insisted. "Yeah. I can tell that your proud. But something is upsetting you. So out with it before I slap you." He threatened. "...." "Don't you have a blueberry to fight." I growled back. "Nagisa can wait!" Karma protested. I brought me knees to my chest and hugged my legs. I used a shadow to retrieve my mask and Karma's mask. The shadow put his mask in his hand and I rubbed my thumb over my mask. I willed a portal under him and took him out of the shadow void. I was alone.  A few minutes later Asano sat next to me. "Did he pass?" He asked. I nodded. "Did Nagisa?" I questioned. "Yep." 

I sighed and slowly unfolded myself and stood up. "Welp I'm gonna go home and nap. See ya Starburst." I stated. "Hang on I'm coming with you whether you like it or not." He said sternly. I chuckled a little bit. I used the shadow void and made my way home with Asano following me. I flopped down onto the couch and fell asleep while Asano started prepping dinner for everyone. "This is odd. She never falls asleep during the day." "Actually she does fall asleep during the day time. Though usually it's only if she uses a lot of energy." "Should we wake her up?" "No. Let her rest. I'm pretty sure somethings been bothering her. She's acted strangely ever since I beat her." "I still don't believe that." I got up rubbing my eyes and looked at the others. "Well believe it. Karma won. Simple. No strings attached." I grumbled sleepily. Karma sighed. "Don't say that. You let me win." He responded. I shook my head. "I would have been able to keep that up for only a few more minutes before my strength gave out. Like I told myself before we started fighting if it came down to strength alone I was screwed. The only thing that stopped you from stabbing me in that moment was my pride and my determination to win." I admitted. "So if you had been stubborn enough to keep going..." Asano trailed off. "He still would have won. Plain and simple. He got me in I hold that I couldn't get away from. He was admitting too much heat so shadow mode was out of the question as well. He won." I said with a shrug. I sighed. "Maybe if I hadn't been so prideful the Phantom Trial would have happened sooner but nope. My pride got the best of me and wouldn't let me admit that Karma and Nagisa surpassed my skill level. Welp doesn't matter now. You both passed and are now full fledged Phantoms. Congrats. Where you go now is up to you and you alone." I  stated laying back down with a lazy expression. "Is the Queen of Emo depressed?" Itona questioned. That struck a nerve. "Shut it hedgehog I'm not in the mood. Unless you want me to kick your a*s." I growled lowly my bloodlust activating a little. "Shads bloodlust." Karma reminded. I took a breath and calmed down. "Sorry. Got a little defensive." I said. Nova flew down from upstairs and landed on top of me. I smiled at the little dragon and played with her a little bit. "Yeah no. She's upset about something." Nagisa deadpanned. I shot him a glare. He hid behind Karma. "Everyone go upstairs." Karma said a shadow covering his eyes. No one questioned him and fled upstairs. Even Nova. He sighed. "You gonna tell me what's wrong or do I need to force it out of you?" He questioned. I avoided eye contact. "(Y/N) tell me what's wrong. This isn't like you. By this point you would've at least scolded for me for talking to you like this. It's starting to worry me." He said. I turned away from him. "Why aren't you looking me in the eye? You always look people in the eyes when talking to them. Especially me and the others." He said. "Karma...You're a full fledged Phantom now...Heh, I never thought it would happen so soon." I whispered. I curled up a little. "You and Nagisa don't need me anymore. You're free to do whatever you want so why worry about me? All little birdies need to leave the nest at some point." I said. "I shouldn't be worried. You'll be fine. You'll be fine." I was trying to convince myself at this point. "You wanna know why I can't look you in the eye? Well it's because I'm scared. I'm proud of you and Blueberry but I'm scared. Scared of being alone again. Scared and worried for you're safety. Hell if you can beat me you should be fine but that doesn't change the fact that I worry....Oh please I'm lying to myself at this point I just don't want to be alone. I'd have Asano and Itona sure but what happens when they pass their trials? They'll leave. Unlike the older Phantoms all of you have things you can do with your lives. Me? Sure I can do other stuff with my life but being a Phantom Assassin is where my heart is. It's all I've ever f*cking known. I'll be forgotten. Left in the in the dust. But then again that's my fault. My fault for getting attached." I growled at myself. I got up and started to walk away. "Ignore me. I'm just rambling." I said. Karma wrapped his arms around my waist stopping me from moving. "Let go you d*mn sadist I'm trying to be depressed right now." I hissed. "Nope." He responded. 

I sighed. "Can you ever let me be sad?" "Nope." He sat down on the couch bringing me with him. "Now what the hell made you think I was going anywhere?" He asked. "You're my girlfriend and I love you. Why the hell would I leave? Because you have nothing left to teach? Bulls*it! Knowing you you'll probably come up with something! Now I can't say for sure about the others but I'm not going anywhere. Honestly anywhere else would be boring as f*ck. This is where the excitement it is. And this is where I belong. Right by your side." He said. "You'll get bored. And who said I didn't have anything left to teach?" I said whispering the other part quietly. "No I won't. Hell with you around how could anyone get bored? If the others leave that just means they're stupid." He said. I used my hand to cover my eyes. "Quit making me feel s*it. I'm trying to be emotionless and depressed." I growled. "Like I'm going to let that happen. You're at your best when you're happy." He said. "Karma..." I trailed off. He helped me stand up. "Let's go tree jumping. That always makes you feel better." He said leading me outside. He was right like usual. After tree jumping for like an hour or so I felt better. When we got back me and Asano asked Itona how the fight went. He gave us a detailed play by play of what happened. "Ha! Karma got taken down by a freaking hug!" I said while laughing. "It was a choke hold!" Karma protested. "Whatever you say Strawberry Kitten." I responded still laughing. "Well that was a one eighty." Itona and Nagisa said. "Welcome back Shads." Asano said. I smiled. "It's good to be back!" I said. That night after doing my rounds.... 

I got up from my desk and grabbed my knife. I quickly changed into my Phantom Uniform and opened my window. I climbed out and climbed down onto the ground. I started running in the direction of the cliff. I jumped into a tree and started tree jumping since it was faster. I jumped above the trees and got a good look around before dropping down onto another branch. I smiled as I jumped from branch to branch. Eventually I broke the treeline and did a few flips in the air before landing smoothly and coming to a complete halt. I was right there at the cliff's edge. I looked at the branch Karma sat on a while back ago. I walked out onto the branch and sat down. It swayed slightly causing my heart to skip a beat but it settled down quickly. I looked at the view I had. It was beautiful you could see for miles around. I looked at the crescent moon. If 70% of it wasn't gone tonight would have been a full moon. I was feeling better. I'm still a phantom. And Phantom rule Number 5 is to keep smiling no matter what. I started thinking about Karma's fighting style. He was the 'I'll take your hits then hit you back twice as hard' type of fighter. That could be a problem in the future but I'm sure he'll figure something out. Speak of the devil here he comes now. "Hey (Y/N)...what are you doing out so late?" Karma asked. I smiled slightly. "Thinking about stuff. Don't worry I'm not in a depressed mood or anything. I'm just thinking." I said. "What're you thinking about?" He questioned. "You and your fighting style." I said honestly. "What about my fighting style?" He asked. "Are you going to keep asking questions or are you just looking for an excuse to talk to me alone for once?" I questioned. "Both. Answer the question." He said. "Well you're fighting style is an interesting one. You take bits and pieces from others fighting styles and make it your own. That's why it's easy for you to adapt and change tactics. You have multiple combinations waiting in the wings. Like when we were fighting I saw some of Karasuma's blocks as well as some of my own styles of dodging as well. And of course combining your fire into the mix put your own spin on things. And I have no idea where you got a f*cking axe kick from but holy s*it did that hurt." I said chuckling a little bit.  "How did you..." He trailed off. "Learn it so fast? Well Karma there's more than one thing we have in common. Just like you by watching someone fight once I can instantly learn their fighting style and come up with a counter strategy." I said. 

I layed back on the branch and looked at him with a cute smile on my face. "Just because you beat my once doesn't mean you can beat me again so don't get to confident. We both know I could've done a lot more in that fight." I said with a hint of cockiness in my voice. "So you were holding back somewhat." He said. "Well duh we weren't even using real knives for crying out loud." I said throwing my arms in the air. He chuckled a little bit. "I suppose you have a point. If you had a real knife things probably wouldn't have ended the same way." He said. "See you're learning." I said. "Are you sure there's nothing left for you to teach?" He questioned. "When did I ever say I had nothing left to teach? I could still teach a lot of things. You guys only learned the basics of being a Phantom which is all I can teach incase you wanted to do something else with your life. I know Nagisa has been contemplating if he should become something else besides a Phantom Assassin. He's still a Phantom. He passed his trial so he became a full fledged Phantom. Like I said what happens next is up to you and you alone. You could continue to training and become a Phantom Assassin. Or stop here and become something else. Because the skills of being a Phantom don't limit people to killing. You could use the knowledge and leadership qualities you learned and become a police officer or a detective. Hell I can see Nagisa becoming a Phantom Teacher or something like that. Those fighting techniques don't need to be used for killing. You can keep them under your belt and use them to defend yourself and people you care about. And sure you and Nagisa may have killed Takaoka but we all knew sparring him would probably cause trouble in the future. He was evil, and it was all we could really do in that situation. Having a murder under your belt may make you think the only path you can go on is the path of an assassin but that's far from the truth. Having a death on your hands can teach someone how important life is. And since we did a justice by taking Takaoka out of the world it can teach you that sometimes you have to do terrible things to protect those you love. Life isn't pretty. And normally killing someone would scar a person for life. But you and Nagisa moved past that. You know in your hearts that while it was a terrible thing it needed to be done." I said. "Heh. You're rambling again Shads." He said. "Ah, sorry. I guess it's easy for me to get carried away." I said. "But I do understand what you mean. Just because we're trained to be assassins doesn't mean we have to be assassins." He said. "Right. And...incase you are planning on sticking with being an assassin give it a little more thought before making that decision." I said. I held up my hand in front of my face. "It can be mentally and physically scarring. And it can be one of the main reasons you have nightmares. Like Professor B*tch said, emotions are hard to kill, but even harder to resurrect. To kill you can't have emotions. Otherwise the guilt will keep you from taking care of yourself." I explained clenching my hand into a fist. "Of course us Phantoms are still able to feel things. It's just we typically can only show those emotions to others of our kind. The guilt keeps us up at night but at least we have eachother. We all know those feelings of guilt and we help eachother through it. That's why after you and Nagisa started training with me I became more kind and friendly to you and everyone else. I was able to open up to those like me. But remember how I acted before hand. Cold, my personality changed rapidly, and it was almost impossible to tell what I was thinking." I said dropping my clenched fist. That's when I realized I was laying down on a branch that was probably on the verge of breaking. I slowly sat up and scooted backward off the branch. Once I was on solid ground I stood up and dusted myself off. "So to answer your earlier question. Yes, there is still plenty I could teach you. But you have to be 100% positive that the assassin's path is the one for you. Because once you choose that path...you can't ever go back." I said slowly. 

I could tell he was about to say something. "Karma...don't say anything just yet. Think about it first. You need to give it more thought. Don't let emotions cloud your judgement. Think of the risks, pros, and cons. Once you have your answer let me know." I said. Wind whipped through and blew through my hair and tail coat causing them to stir. I looked over my shoulder and smiled at him my (E/C) eyes glowing brightly. "I just want you to remember no matter what you choose you're still my second in command whether you like it or not." I said. For a split second I swore I saw him blushing. I jumped directly over his head doing a few flips with a smile on my face. I grabbed a tree branch and swung myself up. I started tree jumping all the way to the house. I eventually made my way home and climbed the wall up to my window. I locked my window and updated my daily log before changing into my nighttime clothes and going to bed.