"So, how's it going with Ritsu?"

"She's doing great!" replied Usagi, grinning. "We're a fantastic team, seriously."

"And how's your project coming along?"

"Not as far as I'd like," he admitted, not losing his grin. "But then again, a project like that one is bound to take a while. But it's fun, so there's that!"

Ame chuckled a little. When Usagi first told her about the project he had started working on with Ritsu, she hadn't expected him to actually go through with it. He had been more than a little drunk when he got the idea, so she thought he would have forgotten when morning came. He didn't forget, though, and he was now dedicating his time both to his creation and to his usual work, and Ritsu was helping him as much as she could. Though, honestly, having one of her classmates know about her work with the Zodiac still made her a little uncomfortable: she checked her phone as soon as she woke up each day to make sure no info had leaked out. But after two weeks or so, Ritsu still kept her word, thus easing Ame's mind a little.

"Well, I gotta go now. Call me if you need anything," she announced, heading out.

The man didn't even answer, too caught up in his work.

.

.

Ame burst into the restaurant and instantly went to hide behind the counter. The usual customers were too used to her sudden appearances by now to really make a fuss about it, and the other waiters simply let Isogai handle it.

"You know, I'm starting to wonder if you're not provoking them on purpose, Ame-san," the boy pointed out, simply drying some of the dishes behind her.

"What can I say? They love me," she replied, checking the windows. A few of the men chasing her passed by without even bothering to look inside. "Whew, that was a tad too close."

"Why don't you tell me why they're after you?" then wondered her class rep. "Maybe I could help."

"You can't," she assured, relaxing a little. "Trust me on that. Plus, I can take care of myself. These oafs won't ever be able to even graze me."

"If you say so," he shrugged, giving up. "The table in the back is free. Do you want your usual?"

At that, she rose to her feet and grinned. "You know me too well."

.

.

"I understand what you mean, but it still feels wrong," explained seriously Irina, in teacher mode. She then turned to the rest of the class. "Don't run from your incompatibilities—master them! I'll be checking your pronunciation regularly from now on, and if you screw up your L's and R's, I'll punish you with a French kiss in public."

Ame sweatdropped a little. The pro assassin was finally getting the hang of teaching, but her methods were still a little unorthodox. Of course, the teen was far from complaining. That woman was probably one of the best English teachers they could have gotten, considering her experience. Plus, she was giving excellent advice probably without even noticing it.

"Don't run from your incompatibilities—master them!"

A small smile settled on Ame's lips as she glanced outside.

.

.

"So, you ready for the quiz tomorrow?" wondered Rio.

"For the first time in my entire life, I can say 'yes' and actually mean it," snorted Ame.

"Wow. So you're actually gonna start taking things seriously?"

"Yeah. I'm not planning on falling behind everyone else. Plus, I'll show those bastards from the other classes that the E-Class can kick their asses too!"

"Ah! You're really fired up, aren't ya?" laughed her friend. "Anyway, I should probably study some more myself. You sure you've got everything?"

"Yup!" Ame pulled her textbook out of her bag. "I've got my book on civics—aaaand I'm now realizing I actually grabbed the science textbook. Fuck my life."

Rio snorted. "Go figures. What are you gonna do now? I can send you pictures if you want."

"No need, I'll go back to class and grab it," refused the black-haired girl, changing directions to head back to the school. "I'm not that far yet anyway. Plus, I'm done taking the easy way out."

"If you're sure… Well, I really gotta go now, but give me a call if you change your mind."

"Will do. Thank, Rio."

"Sure thing."

The blonde hung up, and Ame quickly texted her grandmother to warn her she would come back late. Once done, she started walking faster. Going back all the way up to the classroom was a pain, but it'd teach her to pay more attention next time.

The easy way out is for the cowards, she told herself. And I'm done being a coward who backs down at each obstacle. As Bitch-sensei said, I've got to stop running and start mastering.

Ame slipped into the classroom using one of the windows since it was faster than going in using the door. She quickly grabbed the textbook she needed in her desk, this time actually checking if she had the right one. She was then about to leave as quickly as she came when a choked sound from the hallway echoed.

Danger.

Fast and silent, she peeked outside the classroom, only to find none other than Irina caught in a snare trap and obviously unable to get out alone. There was a man with a long, dark overcoat standing just behind her and talking in a language she failed to understand.

Is he here to kill Bitch-sensei? Why? What does he want with her?

Not thinking straight, she grabbed three of her pocketknives and threw them at once. The first one cut the rope from which her teacher was dangling, thus freeing her and letting her fall on the floor. The second one embedded itself at the man's foot, while the third one flew for his face. At the last second, he caught the blade, just between his eyes. The man narrowed said eyes at the classroom door through which the knives had been thrown… but no one was to be seen—whoever had attacked him and freed the woman was now gone.

"Who are you?" Karasuma suddenly stepped out of the teacher's lounge. "What are you doing?"

The mysterious man knew it wasn't that agent's doing, though. The person who had just attacked him was already far by now.

… Interesting.

Ame let out a shaky breath she hadn't even realized she had been holding. She didn't think things through when she threw her knives, all she could focus on at the time was that her teacher was in danger and that she needed help but now that she was in the clear, she could think more rationally.

This is crazy! Whoever that guy is, he's strong! He's another assassin, that much is obvious, but that means it could blow my cover! It's already hard enough with Korosensei, Karasuma-san, and Bitch-sensei, but now that?

Shaking her head, Ame kept on running. She'd pass the night at Headquarters and try to find a solution for this new problem.

"The guy you're looking for is Lovro," answered Red Eye once she was done describing the man.

"Lovro?"

"Aa. He's a retired assassin who now makes a fortune training younger assassins and having them hired. He works for the government…"

The blond man trailed off as he watched the girl pull out a pack of cigarettes from her pocket and light one, before bringing it to her lips and breathing in deeply.

"You smoke?"

"Not daily. Just when shit like that comes up," she muttered, crossing an arm over her chest and shuddering a little. "Fuck, that was scary…"

"Yeah, he can be pretty intense. Knowing him, he's not going to out you or anything, though," shrugged the newest member of the Zodiac. "He wouldn't gain anything by blowing your cover."

"So he's not going to try and kill me either?"

"I don't think so."

"… well, better than a definitive 'yes', I guess."

Sighing heavily, Ame breathed in the smoke one last time before throwing away her cigarette. She then went to lay down on the couch.

"That was way too close. Do you think he's gonna suspect a student?" she wondered.

"Maybe not at first, but if he's still around tomorrow…" Red Eye shrugged again. "Well, you kind of lost the habit of hiding what you can do, haven't you? Even when we first worked together in Kyoto, I noticed you jumping from roof to roof."

"Oops?"

"Just lay low for the next few days," he concluded. "That's really all I can tell you."

"It's more than enough. Thanks, Red Eye."

"Whatever helps."

.

.

The next morning, when she met up with Rio on the way to school, the blonde grinned at her.

"So, you actually studied?"

Ame stiffened. Then facepalmed.

"Damn it! I completely forgot!"

And to think I went back to get the damn textbook too…

Rio simply patted her shoulder in comfort. "Guess old habits die hard, uh?

Ame simply groaned in defeat.

All of the students had been gathered on the field outside for the gym class. Once they were done, though, Karasuma sat them down and explained to them a rather peculiar situation: Irina's teacher was there and the two assassins had a bet going on. Whoever killed Karasuma first would be deemed the best assassin. It seemed rather childish when explained that way but they had to keep in mind that, if Irina lost, then she would more then probably leave.

Ame didn't really know how to feel about that.

"And there you have it," concluded Karasuma. "Expect some disruptions today, though your classes should remain unaffected. Carry on as you usually do."

As if on cue, Irina suddenly showed up. Ame winced a little as the woman turned on her seduction skills. Since they all knew her and her tactics, only an idiot would actually fall for that. And, let's be real: Karasuma was far from being an idiot. So, he simply ignored the drink she was handing him and returned inside.

"Bitch-sensei…"

"You'd never even fool us with that," pointed out Mimura.

"What do you expect?" protested angrily the woman. "There's no natural way to fake-seduce someone you already know!"

Wow, she's already giving up? Maybe I should try putting her in touch with Uma… But Ame instantly refrained the thought with a cringe. Those two together? Ew. No. Not happening. Ew, ew, ew.

Shaking her head, she was about to ask Rio about the quiz when startled exclamations and Kayano's scream echoed in the back. Surprised, everyone turned around, only to find a knife embedded in the ground between Kayano, Sugino, Nagisa, and few others. Ame kept a cool face but, inside, she was freaking out.

This is one of the knives I threw yesterday! Did Lovro pick them up? Is he trying to lure me out using them? Her eyes widened a little in understanding. He's testing the students to see who'll react properly. Those guys were easily startled, so they're already out, but I'll unconsciously sense them coming and so faking such a reaction will be hard…

"Where the hell did that come from?" wondered Maehara, picking up the knife.

"The woods, but I didn't see who threw it," answered Mimura, checking out said woods.

"You think it's Bitch-sensei's teacher?" proposed Okajima.

"But why would he attack us?" wondered Ame, playing along for now. "We're not his target, right?"

Everyone else simply shrugged, and Maehara kept the knife. Ame didn't say a word, knowing she'd simply take it back later, once Lovro was gone for good. Everyone then headed back inside for the second period of the day.

.

.

Ame watched as Lovro tried to attack Karasuma in the teachers' lounge (as always, she had snuck in to eavesdrop). He was fast, extremely so, but she had gotten used to Korosensei's speed and so she wasn't that startled. Now that she knew what she knew, she wasn't as scared as yesterday. In the end, though, he failed to touch the government agent with his knife. Ame bit back a smile when understanding how strong their teacher actually was.

They've got no chance.

Karasuma left… and Lovro gave up. Ame almost danced in victory at that, understanding he would be gone by tomorrow. Now, all that was left was for Irina to kill Karasuma, and everything would end well. It's only once Lovro left the room that Ame allowed herself to relax, though, and she exhaled in relief. While she wasn't scared shitless, she was still wary. The guy was a master assassin who managed to retire: that meant he was strong enough to survive long enough for him to retire, and that was something not many got to do in that line of work. A moment later, Irina left too, after being cheered up by Korosensei. Once the door closed behind her, the octopus lifted his head, and his eyes met Ame's.

"Learned something interesting, Naoki-san?"

"Aa." The teen jumped down from her perch, easily landing on her feet. "That Lovro guy… He's strong. He wouldn't be able to kill you, though."

"Ooh? Why do you think?"

"From what little I've seen, his strength is his speed and his surprise attacks," shrugged Ame. "You're faster than him, you can easily detect traps and, once his attack pattern is figured out, he's not worth much either. If you know what to expect, it's easy to turn it against your opponent."

"I see. Then what about Irina-sensei?"

"She's made for seduction, infiltration, and assassination in point-blank range," resumed the black-haired teen. "Once her cover is blown, there's nothing much she can do. However, she's learned flexibility while working here as a teacher. So, between her and Lovro… I think she's got better chances at killing Karasuma-san—and you, too."

"Niryufufufu! I completely agree, Naoki-san," nodded her teacher, patting her head. "Though, if I may: you should stop eavesdropping of the sort. Surprising assassins is never a safe idea."

At that, the teen laughed a little. "Unless you don't get caught, right?"

Her teacher could only laugh too. "True enough."

The students were eating in the classroom when a knife suddenly embedded itself in the desk, just before Kimura. There were yelps of surprise as everyone looked around for the thrower, but found no one.

Ame gritted her teeth.

Only one knife left. He won't find me using that trick.

"Ooh, look at that."

At Karma's voice, the students forgot about the little incident and all went to the windows. Outside, they could now see Irina facing Karasuma, a rubber knife in hand.

"She's going at it!"

"Head on, uh?"

"She doesn't stand a chance. Karasuma-san isn't going to fall for that," remarked Maehara, crossing his arms behind his head.

But Ame smirked a little. "A thousand yen Bitch-sensei wins."

At that, the orange-haired boy narrowed his eyes. "You're on."

They shook hands to seal the deal, before reporting their attention outside. It would seem Karasuma was simply letting her win, but they all knew it was a trap so that he could get rid of the woman's knife more easily. At the last moment, though, Irina pulled on the snare trap she had set up and managed to take him by surprise, before jumping on him and bringing her knife down. Her target, however, managed to grab the handle at the last moment, and both found themselves struggling: one trying to stab, and the other trying to avoid being stabbed.

Come on, Bitch-sensei! I know you can do it!

And then, Karasuma let go and Irina managed to get him in the chest.

"Wow!"

"She got him!"

"Ah!" The teen turned to Maehara, extending her hand. "Pay up!"

"Fine, fine…" he grumbled, handing over the money.

She laughed a little, quickly putting it in her pocket. She'd probably pick up some sweets on the way home for the kids.

.

.

School was now over. Ame was heading to headquarters so as to get ready for a new mission when her guts churned painfully. Listening to her instincts, she dropped to the ground, and a loud 'THUD' echoed just to her right. Lifting her head, she found a knife embedded into the street pole just next to her.

My knife. It's one of my knives.

Slowly, she straightened up and glared at the alleyway to her left.

"Come on out already, Lovro-san."

After a few seconds of stillness, the shadows moved and Lovro casually stepped out of the alleyway. He stopped once only a few meters were left between the two of them.

"You're the one who freed my dumb apprentice yesterday," he stated blankly.

"I am. I thought you were going to kill her," she confirmed in the same tone.

"Then why'd you run?"

"Because I'm not an idiot?" Rolling her eyes, she grabbed the handle of her knife and pulled it out with practiced ease. "You could have killed me in the blink of an eye. You still can. The only reason I'm not running right now is that I know that you have nothing to gain from killing me."

"Smart girl." His eyes then landed on her ring. "Aa. I see. I was not aware the Zodiac recruited children now."

She tensed at that, before forcing herself to relax. Considering the guy's reputation, it shouldn't be a surprise that he knew about the Zodiac.

"They don't. I'm the exception. So, was there anything you actually wanted to talk about, or can I go? 'Cause I've got places to be, people to see…"

"I can train you. The Zodiac is one thing, but you are a natural," he replied seriously, somewhat startling the girl. "You have the skills and the potential of a great assassin—"

"Thanks, but no thanks," she cut him off, starting to walk again. "I do a lot of things, Lovro-san, most of which is illegal and immoral, but I'm not a killer."

"You could be."

"I don't want to be. Anyway, I hope you won't linger around too much. It's nothing personal, but you're kind of creeping me out," she remarked offhandedly. "And I'm guessing you know who to contact if you wish to make use of our services. So, good day to you, sir."

Lovro watched girl leave. Her feet didn't make a single noise as they met the sidewalk and he knew that, was he to look away for even a second, she could completely vanish from his sight.

What a waste of potential…

However, he knew he wouldn't be able to change her mind. She had the skills, but not the bloodlust. She wasn't cut out to be an assassin, but he could guess she was the perfect candidate for being a member of the oh-so-elusive Zodiac.

Well, you always knew how to spot the bests, Saru, he mused internally. And how to keep secrets too. Maybe it's time we had a drink, old friend.

.

.

"Kitsune in position."

"Hebi in position."

"Usagi in position."

"Sasori in position."

Kitsune glanced through the window. Inside, the dealers were almost done.

"Operation: start," she ordered.

Hebi threw a small gas bomb at the entrance, distracting the dozen of guards at the entrance. Sasori started taking down those who weren't knocked out by the gas, and Kitsune used the opportunity to slip in through the window. Carefully climbing down, she then made her way to the safe in the back of the room and planted a key in the code reader. Usagi instantly started working on it from headquarters.

"Almost there, almost there, almost there—Ah ah! Got it!"

"Roger."

The teen opened the safe and grabbed two of the duffel bags in which was the money they had been aiming for.

"Hebi, Sasori, three more bags inside, I can't take all of them," she warned.

"I'm coming, just give me a moment," replied the red-haired woman.

"Coming," simply announced the sniper.

"Oi! Drop the bags and put your hands behind your head!"

Kitsune didn't hear the distinct click of a gun since she was wearing her special earplugs, but she could guess whoever yelled the order was aiming a weapon at her head. So, slowly, she put down the two bags and placed her hands behind her head.

"Now turn around! And no wrong move, got it?"

She turned around… and threw four of her knives at the first guy. Two disarmed him while the other two got him right in the shoulders. She instantly darted forward before the other four could react and knocked one out with his own baseball bat, before stabbing the third one in his tight. As he howled in pain, she grabbed his head and brought it down on the table corner, resulting with a loud crack (she didn't know whether it was the table or the guy's head, but she'd rather not check). The fourth one tried to shoot her, but she let herself slid on the floor and stabbed him in his foot as she passed between his legs, before kicking his rear and making him fall. As she rose back to her feet, though, she found the barrel of a gun right in her face.

Keep calm. It's cool. Just a gun. Just a gun, right in your face, that's about to kill you—

Some specks of blood suddenly splattered on her masked face… and the guy dropped dead. She stared at his corpse for a few seconds, startled.

"Got him. You okay, Kitsune?" then asked Sasori.

"… Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

Hebi suddenly burst inside. "We're taking the bags and leaving now. One of them called for backup," she warned.

Nodding, Kitsune wasted no time in picking up the bags she had left behind before running outside, soon followed by her teammate. Sasori was already at the door.

Kitsune grinned at him, even though he couldn't see it. "Wanna do the honors?"

He shot an unsure glance at the woman next to her, who simply shrugged.

"Go for it, man!" cheered Usagi.

Shaking his head, Sasori then grabbed a card in one of his pockets and threw it on the ground. Kitsune cheered, but the moment was soon forgotten as many cars suddenly appeared in the distance.

"Split and meet up?" proposed Hebi, handing one of the three bags she was holding to their new member.

"Copy that. See you guys at Headquarters!" nodded Kitsune.

The other two nodded, before the three split up in different directions, leaving behind them a few corpses, an empty safe and a black card with the white drawing of a scorpion, under which was written a single word.

ZODIAC

"The movie was great, but did he have to ask us to do… homework…"

Karma trailed off as he suddenly noticed a shadow moving quickly from tree to tree just ahead of them. It was gone in almost the blink of an eye, but it had been there.

"Karma-kun?" blinked Nagisa, confused.

"… It's nothing. Anyhow, as I was saying…"

.

.

"So, you gave your first card. We've got to celebrate this!" exclaimed Ame.

"I believe we should celebrate the fact that you just brought back a ton of money first," remarked giddily Devit, still counting the bills.

Devit, aka Ratto, was the one in charge of the finances and paychecks of the group and its members. He was also the one who handled the contracts with their clients to get a maximum of profits. He was an ex-thief who had broken into more than two hundred banks around the world before the police finally caught him. They had to shoot him in the leg for that, though, and so Devit could no longer go out on the field. When he somehow managed to break out of jail, he was found by Saru, who recruited him to take care of the money problems the group was having, and they only got richer ever since.

Hana suddenly came back with two packs of sake bottles.

"Ame's right, we gotta celebrate. That was your first mission, and it was a great success," she praised, handing over a bottle to Red Eye.

"It was… different," mused the man, accepting the drink. "I could get used to this kind of work."

"And I could get used to this kind of after-mission," retorted Usagi, grabbing two bottles for himself.

"Amen to that!" exclaimed Ame, picking one up.

The bottle was instantly taken out of her grasp by Hana, though.

"Aw, come on!" protested the teen. "Just a sip!"

"You're only fifteen. I am not letting you get drunk," retorted the red-haired woman, offering her another drink. "Take the bubble tea and enjoy it."

"Ugh, fine. But once I hit twenty, you won't be able to stop me anymore!"

Hana roughly ruffled her hair at that. "Just drink your bubble tea and shut up, brat."

Rolling her eyes, Ame simply did as told. As she watched the other members relax and laugh, though, she couldn't help but agree with Usagi: she, too, could get used to this kind of after-mission.

I apologize for the shortness of this chapter. The next one should be longer, this one was mostly to set things up a bit. I hope you still enjoyed it, though!