Forum Thread

Nisihikawa Setsuko

Ash turned to face them all. "Okay, guys, no offense, but I have no idea who the heck you are."

"Heck..." Nisihikawa mumbled, temporarily distracted.

"But that'll change in a minute! We're going to be doing a buncha tests. Each will test for like, a different aspect of heroism. And not like, media and awesome moves whatnot. More like combat and rescue." He tapped his chin. "You'll be ranked on how well you did and I'll make some suggestions. Let you know what angles you should pursue." Ash smiled broadly. "Anyone got any questions?"

Nisihikawa raised their hand. "Do we have to follow the suggestions?"

"Not necessarily! I'll just let you know what I think you should focus on. It's really up to you what you pursue. Please try not to do anything you're too bad at, though- that'd be a super big waste of your time when you figure out you're useless!" Ash laughed.

"Quite nice of you to say," some kid- (Hajime something?) grumbled under his breath.

---

"Jeez," Leiko mumbled, she wondered what she would be good at, probably something that requires speed or agility. While Leiko was surrounded by other students, she was definitely not focused on any of the others around her. Instead, her usually sharp mind was only focused on what she would be best at.

---

Ash frowned, apparently not pleased with his crowds of grumbling students. "Who wants to go first?"

Dead silence.

"I will, I suppose," Hajime sighed.

Ash clapped his hands together. "Lovely! Really, quite lovely!"

Nisihikawa sidled up to Leiko. "He's stupid," they whispered. "He is so so stupid." They prodded her in the side. "Betcha Ash'll kick him off the fence."

---

Leiko snickered at what Nisihikawa said, "Maybe," Leiko said. While she waited she spoke up to Nisihikawa 'What do you think you'll be best at?" she wondered if her attempt to break the silence would work.

---

"Excuse me? You don't think I'll top you in everything?" Nisihikawa whimpered in mock offense. "You're so mean, Leiko. I bet you I'll win in rescue and information gathering." They grinned. Hm. So perhaps they had a brain in their head to be able to answer that question.

Hajime stood in front of Ash. Ash nodded him forward. "The first test will be rescue." Ash smiled. "That is the most important one for a hero to succeed at. Rescuing is what we do, after all."

A gate creaked. Nisihikawa jumped.

It slammed shut behind Hajime and Ash.

"Oh. We don't get to watch?" They sounded disappointed.

---

Leiko sighed in response, "Nah, I bet I'll top you." she smirked. When she saw the doors had closed on Ash and Hajime she new she couldn't take mental notes.

---

"Bet you won't," Nisihikawa hissed back.

The rest of the students settled in for the long run. Venus fly trap girl was studiously taking notes. On what? Nisihikawa had no idea.

With a groan, they settled back.

This might take a while.

---

You really wanna bet," Leiko said happily. She watched the others groan and simply ignored them.

---

A long, long time later...

Nisihikawa was slipping into sleep. Hours must've passed. When was lunch coming...? They yawned, exposing sharp teeth.

And then, a booming voice came from a loudspeaker.

"Foolish heroes... resting while your friend was kidnapped!" Ash! A cackle came from the loudspeaker. "Your good friend Hajime is my hostage! And you have been sitting here sunning while I've been formulating my master plan!"

Nisihikawa nearly tripped in their effort to get on their feet. "Eh?! What's going on-?"

The voice was coming from a tree. They whirled around-

A screen showed a picture of Ash, suited up in a villainous parody of his outfit, Hajime handcuffed beside him. His hair blowed dramatically in the wind. "Ah, the travesty! You could never reach us in time to save your fellow hero... Not in-" Ash checked his watch. "2 hours and 36 minutes!" The countdown lit up on the screen. "Ahahahahha! I'm so evil! AHAHHAHAHHAHA!"

And then the screen shut off.

Nisihikawa gaped.

---

Leiko saw the screen, "Sounds like a newb villain," said Leiko, "I mean kidnapping the kid was probably a little hard to do but the rest, and that cackle." she groaned. Leiko turned to Nisihikawa "It might be an act, a part of the assessment," she said, "But, we still need to keep our guard up. Just in case." she added.

---

Nisihikawa wasn't listening. Tears were streaming down their face. "TEACHER ASH!" they screamed. "I BELIEVED IN YOU! I FOLLOWED IN YOUR FOOTSTEPS AND YOU ABANDONED ME!"

Venus Flytrap girl nodded to Leiko's words, however. "You're correct. Most likely, this is an attempt to gauge our reactions in a crisis." She tapped her wrist thoughtfully. "What he said earlier was strange to me. Ensuring we were all there if we were to be counted anyway... that did not make much sense. A hero cannot afford to be scatterbrained, even, or perhaps especially a media-based hero like Ash the Carbon Hero. In any case, individual assessments occur at UA on occasion, yes, but generally heroes will engage in team assignments and thus-"

"TRAITOR! TRAITOR! TRAITOR! TRAITOR!"

Venus Flytrap girl frowned, though it was hard to tell. "I expect we have had clues to his location laid down. I was taking notes the whole time on this very basis-"

"YOU MONSTER I'LL SAVE HAJI- WHATEVER HIS NAME-"

"Shut up!" she snapped. Nihishikawa wasn't listening. Grumbling under her breath, she turned to Leiko. "So, we're most likely going to be doing all these tasks... at the same time. Information gathering, combat, rescue..." Her eyes narrowed. "How effective. And presenting a situation to us which may or may not be dire is sure to strike even the most easygoing student to action."

She smirked.

"I think I'll quite like UA."

"NOOOOOOOOOO!"

"...Except for that."

---

Hesitantly Leiko looked at the others, if this was really real that kid could be in danger, And Oh how I wish this class was over, Leiko thought. She replied to the Venus flytrap girl saying "I'm liking this school too, so much has happened on the first day."

---

Venus Flytrap didn't smile. She turned to the rest of the class. "We need to formulate a plan. Our rescue cannot commence if we do not-"

"HAJIGUY, I'LL SAVE YOU!"

She turned, but Nisihikawa was already disappearing into the brush. With a scowl, she whipped to Leiko. "Call your pet back," she ordered.

---

"Going, going, and they're not a pet," Leiko sighed, "Nisihikawa, come on we're going to try to formulate a plan, to save 'Hajiguy', in order to do that you have to actually help," she chided.

---

"NO ONE CAN STOP ME!" Nisihikawa's voice faded.

Venus Flytrap girl stared blankly at Leiko. "You're right. They're not your pet." She snorted, flipped back her hair, and then walked off. A boy with a sunhat gave a yelp.

"H-Hey! We need to make a plan, remember?"

Venus Flytrap girl kept walking.

"Oh gods..." Sunhat Boy moaned. "We're doomed."

---

"Listen Nisihikawa," Leiko said sternly, "Instead of hiding and yelling around in order to actually save Hajime you need to stop isolating yourself, come here and help create a plan." she explained.

---

Nisihikawa's distant steps paused. Were they considering what she was saying?

The screen turned on.

"Better hurry kiddos~ Time's ticking down fast."

---

"If you are going to help now's the time to do it Nisihikawa," Leiko said earnestly, "for the rest of you, I'm sure Ash isn't feeling the best, we're here for a reason, coming up with a plan to save Hajime would be a good start," she said in a pressing manner.

---

Nisihikawa's face poked through the bushes. "Your smartness is stupid," they grumbled. They pushed through the thick branches and emerged in the clearing, their uniform murdered from their fight with the thorns. "Whatever. Saving Haji-guy is important. He's my new best friend."

"MMPH, MMPHH!" 'Haji-guy' complained over the loudspeaker.

The screen shut off, leaving only the countdown illuminated.

"What's your plan, my smart-stupid rival?"

---

Arita Aki had quickly recognized the incompetence of her fellow UA students. They fell apart at the slightest provocation. They fell asleep during a test.

There was no intelligence in their puny brains. Born with perfect, happy quirks, they'd had the world handed to them and been told 'you can win with your power alone'. They didn't think to use their brains- just ridiculous brute force.

Arita could do so much better on her own.

She paused by a tree, and planted her hand on it. Vines climbed down her arm and jabbed into the tree. She closed her eyes, listening intently.

She narrowly avoided the enormous force hurtling at her.

Dancing backwards, she took account. They're outside, in a region with shade. They have a continuous livestream of us. She cursed herself out internally. Dang it! This must've been their plan. The students, looking for a building, would split up, and be easy to pick off. Ash wouldn't just want to play hide and seek. This was an actual game.

The wolf-beast turned on its heel. It dropped into a crouch. Drool dripped off its snarling maw, trickling down bared yellow teeth. Its haunches tensed-

Arita lunged, vines exploding from her arms. The wolf gave a howl, leaping for her face. The vines swerved suddenly, aiming for beneath the wolf. The claws slashed along the line- pain seared in her-

And then a singular strand embedded in the ground.

The grass around the wolf's paws entangled in an instant. The wolf was set sprawling. Arita jabbed her hand to the tree, and the branches leaned down, wrapping the wolf in an embrace. It howled, fighting to get free.

"Pathetic beast." Arita listened, but she didn't hear backup. She scoffed. "Is this meant to stop us? We're all capable of combat here. You should send some real threats."

"As you wish."

Arita whirled, but it was too late.

Already, they were upon her.

---

"Well, we ne-" Leiko was cut off by a struggling U.A student, "first we need to find what is going on over there," she
commanded while pointing to another student and some monsters.

---