(Warning extra long chapter! Like really really long. Enjoy!)

"And that's why it's important to know how to cook, even for an assassin." I said finishing my lecture to Sugino, Karma, and Nagisa. "Wow I never knew that." Sugino said. "Good thing I'm an awesome cook." Karma bragged. "Sure you are." Sugino said in disbelief. "You'd be surprised." I said. "Yeah, no. Karma is amazing at cooking." Nagisa said. We were walking around the batting cages just talking about random stuff. "Whoa really? I never knew that. You learn something new everyday." He said. "Well I had to grow up alone mostly since my parents were always on business trips. I self taught myself how to cook." Karma said. "And it turns out amazing. You have not lived until you've tried some of his cooking." I said with wide eyes. Nagisa nodded. "Good at fighting and cooking. Some people come with the full package." He said sadly. "Hey, hey. You're good at fighting to Nagisa. Don't count yourself out Blueberry." I said patting his head for like the hundredth time. He just smiled at me. "Why do you call Nagisa Blueberry?" Sugino asked. I chuckled. "I have nick names for almost all my close friends. Nagisa is Blueberry, Kayano is Mint, Rio is Mirajane, Okada is Poison Master, and Karma is Strawberry." I said listing off my nick names for my friends. "When did I get a nick name?" Karma asked. "Oh trust me I have lot of nick names for you. Red Devil, Strawberry, Dragon, Pyro Master, the list goes on and on." I said. "Red Devil and Dragon huh? Those are interesting choices." He said seeming to pick up on the hint that he needs to decide on a code name. "Really? I think Pyro Master is the most unusual." Sugino chimed in. Nagisa, Karma, and me all started laughing. "No that one's really appropriate. At least for those of us who have felt what his bloodlust is like." Nagisa said. "Yeah, oh boy." I said. "What?" Sugino questioned completely lost. "Don't worry about it. Just be lucky that I've been around to make sure it doesn't get out of hand." I said. "Yeah, but you don't want to deal with it either." Karma said in a teasing tone. "It's scary!" I protested. "Sure." He said with a smirk. "No, it really is. It really, really is." Nagisa said. Karma shook his head at us. "You would run too!" Nagisa protested. "I jump one time. ONE TIME! And you never let me live it down!" I said. It was during a sparing match when he had manged to sneak up on me and I felt his bloodlust. I flinched a little and now he brings it up every chance he gets. Sugino was still lost. We dropped the conversation. I spotted a vending machine and went to get a drink. After getting a soda I returned to see some A-class baseball team talking with the boys. My hood was down, I've been leaving it down for a while now. In fact I rarely put it up now a days. I walked up my soda in my hand. "Wazup guys. Are these A-class a*s holes giving you trouble?" I asked in a calm but threatening tone. The A-class team backed away from the fence. "Easy, we got this." Karma said placing a hand on my shoulder. I shrugged. "And who is this?" The leader of the team (judging from the look of him) asked. "They call me Shadow." I said. "Well why is someone like you in E-class. You had some of the highest scores on midterms." He said. I chuckled. "If that's your poor attempt at flirting I think it needs some, no a lot, of work." I said. He growled at me. "But to answer your question it's because the E-class kids are actually decent people. Not only that but my loyalty knows no bounds. Offer me a million dollars and I'll still choose my friends over being an A-class a*s hole. Even if the principle himself asked me I would turn him down. I hope that answers your question. Come on boys we've got more stuff to do then remind them that three E-class students made top marks on midterms." I said. I started walking off. Karma and Nagisa flanked my sides like we practiced while Sugino filed in behind Nagisa. I heard the angry shouts of the A-class baseball team as we left. I smirked in victory. "I feel like I just won something." I said a spring now in my step. "Shadow you are a goddess you know that?" Sugino said in awe. I chuckled. "Yeah I know." I said. This earned snickers and laughs from both my students. 

Once we got back to school I was informed about the upcoming baseball tournament. I turned to Sugino and Karma. "YOU KINDA FORGOT TO MENTION THIS YA KNOW!" I shouted. Karma just stuck his tongue out in a cute but teasing manor. Sugino shrugged with an apologetic smile. "I thought you already knew." He said. I glared at Karma since he's the one who updates me on school events. "AND WHAT'S YOUR EXCUSE!?" I shouted. "I thought Nagisa told you." He said. "Lies." I spat. The class showed Koro-sensei the line ups, Sugino gave a little speech, and next thing I know me and Karma are on recon. We spied from the hill close to the batting cages. I had spotted it earlier and assassins way of thinking kicked in. Karma was taking notes while I reported what I saw. He also did the math on the speed of the leaders pitch. 

                       Karma has gained the new nick name of Math King.    

"We shouldn't be the ones out here. I'm better suited for fighting not stealth. We should have sent Nagisa." Karma growled in annoyance. "A Phantom Assassin has to be skilled in all skills. So shut up and do the math, cause I sure as hell ain't doing it." I growled. "You're more p*ssed than normal." He pointed out. I snickered. "A-class a*s holes have that affect on me." I said. "Fair enough." He said. We finished up the recon and returned just in time to see all the boys on the ground except Nagisa. "How...are you...still standing!?" Okajima asked completely out of breath. "Stamina training. I still go to Shadow's after school classes." He said crossing his arms. "Come on you guys we're assassins for crying out loud!" He scolded. Karma gave me a fist bump for a job well done. "I'm so proud. Our little Blueberry's all grown up." I said in a teasing tone. Everyone looked at us. "I still want to corrupt him." Karma said. "You're not corrupting Nagisa!" I protested while laughing. This was a running joke with us. "Watch me!" He said also laughing. "Uhhh, what?" Nagisa asked. "Nagisa you're too pure!" I said laughing at the Blueberry's innocence. Me and Karma were both tearing up with laughter. The rest of the class had gotten to their feet and was looking at us like we were aliens. "I never thought I'd see Karma laugh not evilly or at someone else's pain." Sugino said in shock. "Is Shadow joking around! Who are you!?" "Geez guys it's not that uncommon." Nagisa said. "I always catch them joking around like this. It's typically whenever I leave them alone to go home. I just hear them laughing and joking and talking." Nagisa explained. Me and Karma froze. "S*it we've been caught!" I said. "Code blue! I repeat code Blue!" Karma shouted. "No, no, no, code blue is if Nagisa's bloodlust get's out of hand. Code green is when he finds out about us talking like normal people." I reminded. "Oh. CODE GREEN, I REPEAT CODE GREEN!" Karma shouted. We just started laughing again. "I like this side of you two." Koro-sensei said showing up in a baseball uniform. "I've been noticing how close you three have been since after midterms but now it's getting clearer and clearer how close you've become. Inside jokes, hanging out after school, and Sugino told me about the nick names." He said. I flinched. "Well they are my best friends after all." I said shrugging. "Whoa when did you three become best friends?" "Me and Shadow got along pretty well since the beginning. Nagisa joined us a little before midterms. Ever since we've hung out any chance we get. And Shadow gives us pointers whenever we ask." Karma said. "Yeah, I mean you'd think everyone else would get a hint since I let you two pet me." Nagisa said. I've taught them well in the arts of lying. "Wait you mentioned something about still training with Shadow right Nagisa?" "Yeah but it's only me I think. I just want to make sure I don't fall behind everyone else. I want to help too you know." Nagisa said a light blush on his face. "Karma tends to supervise hence why we all meet up after school." I said. "Karma?" I questioned. He was laughing again. "I'm sorry. But Nagisa blushing is adorable!" He said in between laughs. I looked at the blushing Blueberry. Oh s*it! I cursed mentally. "Karma go ahead and tell the others what we discovered. I need to talk with Nagisa." I said. I walked over and grabbed his wrist. I dragged him into the building after signaling to Karma to keep them all busy. I took him into the teachers lounge. I closed the door and made sure no one was close by. "(Y/N) is something wrong? Did I mess up?" He asked with worry. "No Nagisa you did everything perfectly." I said looking around the teachers lounge. "Then why did you bring me back here?" He asked. I found a pointy needle and grabbed a blank sheet of paper. "Let me see your hand." I said. Nagisa held his hand out to me. I pricked his finger with the needle and then pressed it to the white sheet of paper. A light shade of blue bleed through the paper. "What the hell!" Nagisa shouted. "I was afraid this might happen." I mumbled. I removed the paper from his finger and handed him a bandage that I had in my cloak. I started pacing as he applied it. "Okay. How do I put this. Umm, so. Your blood is blue now there's a start. And it's a side effect of the serum." I explained. Nagisa seemed calm but his wavelength was chaotic. The door opened. Nagisa looked at it in fear but I already sensed his presence. Karma walked through the door. "What's going on? Koro-sensei sent me to come get you two so we can practice for the game." He said. I stopped pacing and looked him in the eyes. "Karma give me your hand." I said. He looked confused but still held his hand out to me. I quickly pricked his finger and pressed a clean section of the paper to it. "OUCH! What was that for!?" He shouted. "Shush!" I growled. Red bled through the paper. "Oh thank God." I said relived. "WHY IS HE SO LUCKY!" Nagisa whisper shouted. "WHAT'S GOING ON HERE!?" Karma basically roared at us. "So you know how my blood is black?" "WAIT WHAT!?" "Yeah, what of it?" Karma asked. I held out the paper. "Nagisa's blood is blue!" I hissed. Karma snatched up the paper while I applied a bandage to his finger. "What! Why is his blood blue!?" Karma asked in a panicky tone. "It's a side affect of the serum I think!" I whisper shouted. "Hold on back up! Your blood is black!?" Nagisa asked. "Yes get over it! The problem isn't me right now!" I said going back to my pacing. "This is bad." Karma whispered. "YOU THINK!?" Me and Nagisa whisper shouted. "Okay, we need to calm down. Hiding blood isn't as hard as you'd think. All we need is to use some concealer to hide the blush and make sure you don't get wounded." I said. "EASY FOR YOU TO SAY YOU RARELY EVER GET INJURED BECAUSE YOU CAN TURN INTO A SHADOW!" He shouted. 

"Nagisa...shadow mode isn't invincible." I said sadly my eyes softening. I stopped pacing and favored looking out the window. "I didn't want to bring this up because I want you guys to see me as a powerful protector. A shield that can't be broken. But even I have nicks and dents in my armor that can be exploited. Shadow mode turns me into a shadow true, but magic attacks can still damage me." I said. I heard Nagisa gasp. "I didn't wan't to bring this up because he's cocky enough already but...Karma has an...elemental advantage over me." I said. Once again I could feel Karma's smirk. "Fire burns through shadows. It's why his bloodlust is so scary to me. Because for the longest time, shadow mode has been invincible. And now someone can cut through it. Nagisa that means he has elemental advantages over both of us." I said with light amusement. "Oh come on! Why does he get the cool power! And I thought ice could freeze fire!" "That's Fairytail logic!" Me and Karma both corrected him. "But be that as it may Shadows and Fire go hand in hand if I'm being honest." I said remembering the elements and their weaknesses, strengths, and similarities. How they all connected, how they fit together. "What do you mean by that?" Karma asked. I chuckled. "I'll tell you some other time but we better get back before Koro-sensei comes looking for us." I said realizing how long we've been over here. "S*it she's right!" Karma said. Nagisa complained more about his blood. I put some concealer on his face so that it was covered. Since Nagisa was really pale it didn't look much different. We went back out and Koro-sensei explained what we would be doing. I was allowed to play in the baseball game since one, I'm better at hitting something with a lot of strength rather than aiming with speed. (Don't get me wrong I can aim well and I can aim quickly. The truth is I'd rather be in the boys game rather than the girls game. And being completely and brutally honest I don't give two s*its about sports. It's all the same to me.) And two, one of the guys was sick so they needed an extra player. I was chosen because of obvious reasons. (And I can trip up the other team with shadows in case things get ruff but let's not tell anyone that little detail.) Anyway at training we just practiced some basic stealth techniques and reviewed how to mask their presence. After they left I updated my book and went to bed. 

The next day at the tournament we did well until the principle intervened. Then here came the kicker. I was standing next to Karma when Koro-sensei told us to start trash talking. Finally something funny! So we did our thing. But get this. Nagisa was up to bat. And he got the ball past the A-class's defensive line. Looks like that extra training on the weekends came in handy. Granted he had to hold back a little and let them catch him but he got some points. A-class is up to bat. In the words of Koro-sensei 'Time to put that earlier trash talk to use.' E-class used the same defensive line. "Now if the ump had called A-class out on it then they could do the same to us but nope!" I said overly cheery. "You're cool with this right chief?" Karma asked directing it to the principle. "Proceed how you like." He said. "Really?" Karma questioned with a smirk. "We're going to hold you to that sir." I said darkly. We got up in the batters face. It was the leader of the team. I smirked as did Karma. "Remember me?" I said in a very creepy voice adding a creepy chuckle for good measure. His eyes darted from me to Karma (Who had his 'devil smirk' on.). He swung the bat to try and hit the ball but me and Karma back flipped away from his swing. He missed the ball entirely. "Whoa did they just back flip!?" "What is up with that class!?" "That was a little dramatic!" "Come on! I came to watch E-class crash and burn what is this!?" 

Me and Karma got right back in his face. "Come on man that was so easy to dodge." Karma stated in a bored tone. "Next time." I started. Me and Karma held up our gloved hands like they were knives. "Swing like your trying to kill us." We said darkly. The leader seemed to be having a mental break down. I checked, yep some of my bloodlust was seeping out as was Karma's. This time when we dodged he hit the ball but we got him out before he even started running. E-class had won the game. Now you're probably wondering what affect my bloodlust has on people. It's suppose to make them afraid. To see things that aren't there. It causes short bursts of insanity that makes people fearful of me and the people around them. Like I said short bursts of insanity. The other guy had to be taken to the infirmary but I didn't notice the principal's glare, or Karma's clone's (Asuno) stareing. I was too busy celebrating the victory with my friends. Me and Karma got tackled by a flying Blueberry. "Guys that was awesome! I could feel the bloodlust from the other side of the field!" Nagisa praised still managing to have both me and Karma pinned to the ground. "Nagisa can you let us up?" Karma asked. "Oh sorry." He said getting up. I stood up and dusted myself off. 

After that when Karma and Nagisa came for training..."Today since your skills have improved so much I have decided to hold a tournament of my own!" I announced to them. Their jaws dropped. "I will be hiding somewhere in the forest, since you two are fast and have powers I will be moving if I see you coming. The objective is to tag me with out me noticing you're there. So it's more like an advanced game of hide and seek rather than a tournament but it'll help with your training none the less." I explained. They both nodded. We all changed into our Phantom Assassin uniforms only without the masks. Both of them had their hoods up but I could see the scales on their necks and the slit eyes. "You're in your uniforms to make it difficult. You're the one's who chose the challenging path of a Phantom Assassin." I said. They both nodded. I put on my mask and tucked my arm into a bow. "May the best Phantom win. Oh and if you can't find me in three hours I win." I said before turning into a shadow and darting. 

~Time Skip~ 

It had been sometime around thirty minutes. I was hiding in some bushes currently. I wasn't going easy on them either. All my senses were alert and I was ready to dart at a moments notice. Waiting, watching, listening. I was ready. Nagisa was as silent as a snake. He was stealthy and ready to strike. Karma on the other hand was storming all over the place, his fiery presence hard to miss. I thought I told them this was a stealth game. I thought. 

~Time skip~ 

Two hours in. Nagisa had almost caught me five times. The sneaky little assassin was good at this. Karma was still rushing around like a mad man. He hadn't masked his presence once. I thought I taught them how to do that. I thought. I heard a rock move behind me. Nagisa came rushing forward. I moved at lightning speed and avoided him. Once again he had to touch me to win. I ran off and used a shadow to trip him giving me time to run while he recovered. I hid behind a tree to catch my breath. That was close. I thought. Then I realized something. I couldn't sense Karma anymore, but I realized that a little too late. I got tackled by a red blur. We rolled down a hill until we stopped. I stared up and golden slitted eyes. "I win!" Karma cheered like a little kid. I sat up and we just sat there. "How?" I asked. "I didn't mask my presence on purpose." He said with a smirk. "That way you always knew were I was, until I noticed you hiding in the bushes. I threw a rock because Nagisa was close by. While you were distracted with him I masked my presence and then pounced while you were recovering from his attack." He explained. 

My mouth hung open I then smiled full of pride. "It wasn't about out sneaking me." I started. "It was about outsmarting you." He finished. Never would I have expected that strategy. "That was a very clever idea. A fake out! I never expected that." I said. "It was about getting you while your defenses were down. On high alert I knew I wouldn't be able to touch you." He said. I nodded. "Clever, clever." I said. Nagisa walked out of the trees. "Whoa, Karma you got her!? How!? She was on high alert and you didn't mask your presence!" Nagisa said in disbelief. "I can hardly believe it but he outsmarted me." I said. Karma explained to Nagisa what he did. "That's clever!" Nagisa said in awe. "I know!" I shouted. Karma just laughed at us. We went back to camp chatting on the way there like normal. After the boys got out of their uniforms we went into town and got something to eat. My treat, the boys deserved it.

"The real purpose of that tournament was so I could evaluate your skills. Karma has aced strategy, and Nagisa has mastered stealth since he almost got me like six times." Nagisa snapped his fingers at this news. Karma laughed. After Nagisa left to go home Karma walked me back up to camp. "I still want to know about that fire and shadows thing." Karma said as we were walking up the mountain. "You know how I explained that your magic is a lot like mine?" I questioned. He nodded. "Well take these words to heart. The brighter a flame burns the longer it's shadow becomes, a flame can pierce the darkness but only if it the flame itself grows. Which means the shadow also grows." I said. "The stronger I become, you grow stronger to match that strength." He said. I nodded. "Like I said our magic goes hand in hand. But even so you still have an elemental advantage. But I have the experience advantage. Just because you have potential to beat me in a fight doesn't mean you can." I said turning this into a lecture. He rolled his eyes but smirked. "Don't worry, not only am I going to be the one to kill Koro-sensei but I'll also be the one to beat you in a fight." He declared. I chuckled at this. "You can try at least." 

After he left I updated my book and slept for the night.