Assassins Can Be Heroes Too || Todoroki Shoto

|46| The Assassin's Test

Things that are happening with Rie and Pixie's dirt monsters will be underlined
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was remarkable to Aizawa - and the female Pussycats - just how rapid her progress was. He stared at the small device in his hands in marvel, his jaw open slightly as the other Heroes peered over his shoulder, 'ooh'ing at the assassin's performance.

"She's fast..."

The girls' eyes brightened, stealing a glance at the young boy who was standing beside them.

"Kota, let's go," Mandalay called over her shoulder, the man gazing at the boy - who he only just realised was there - and nodded in acknowledgement, unsurprised as he let out a low 'tch' and turning away, though he obliged and trotted beside Mandalay.

She let out a low snarl, silently walking through the thicket and her golden eyes darting around her cryptic surroundings. She let out a huff of annoyance, though her eyes quickly widened as she heard footsteps, a roar resonating through the forest.

"What in the-" she began, barely rolling out of the way as she gazed up, her mouth open in a small 'o', "what is..."

It was a monstrous, golem-like creature that looked as if it was made from dirt, stone and roots. Some dirt pieces began to crumble from its chest as a forced smirk made its way on her face.

"So this is what I gotta do, huh?"

"Hey, Aizawa... I got a question for you," murmured Mandalay, the man raising a brow, "if... Rie's just doing the same tasks as everyone else... why bother separating her from the rest of her classmates?"

The Erasure Hero blinked as Pixie-Bob agreed, bouncing next to him.

"Well..." he hesitated, "Dart has a lot more experience with Villain work than Hero work and grew up in a world where Villains were worshipped, whereas her classmates grew up in a world where Heroes were worshipped. The way that they'll fight will be completely different. Heroes fight with an intention to save lives and protect those who are vulnerable. The majority of Villains fight with the intent to kill."

The Pussycats, though confused, let him continue.

"If Rie is grouped with the others, she'll no doubt finish them off extremely quickly. Not to mention, she hates working with others - especially Heroes," he finished, "on the other hands, the other students are unaware of her Villainous upbringing and fighting style and therefore will become suspicious of her actions."

"So..." began Mandalay, piecing his reasoning together.

"You're trying to protect her identity?" blinked Pixie-Bob, a sly smirk emerging on her face, "wow, Eraser~ didn't know you had a soft spot for some of the kids~"

"Shut up."

"That's five kills," she murmured through gritted teeth, grinning as she let out a laugh, "these beasts don't stand a chance against me..."

She hopped from branch-to-branch, sneering widely as she sliced through the Beasts. Gunshots rang through the forest and dirt piled onto the ground as she landed on the ground in a ninja-like fashion. She panted, her violet hair covering her golden eyes. She stared forward, coming to the realisation that her stamina was quickly draining.

"I want to save as much energy as I can..." she murmured to herself, shooting another Beast beside her without sparing it a glance, "at the same time, I want to finish as soon as possible..."

She grumbled.

"I don't want to do this, but..." she grumbled, a disgruntled scowl on her face as she summoned a bow and a quiver of arrows, "it's the only thing I have that takes out multiple things at once..."

She aimed the arrows at the Beasts, releasing the string.

"So uh... how many more are left?"

"Ehh~?" whined Pixie-Bob suddenly, "this is no fun!"

Aizawa blinked, turning to Mandalay for an explanation. She shrugged, the Heroes turning to her blankly.

"She's killing them all in an instant!"

Mandalay blinked. That's... fast... is this the fastest she can go?

"So, Aizawa," Mandalay suddenly asked, "how's the rest of the class doing?"

He cast the other timer a swift glance.

"Not even halfway," he observed sharply, the females sweat-dropping as his dark eyes darted back to Rie's time and movement, "Rie's far ahead of them... we should start heading to the lodge; who knows when she'll get there."

"Good idea," hummed Pixie-Bob giddily, "I'll continue torturing these little kitties of yours... ooh, my fur's on end, just thinking about it~!"

Rie didn't want to know how many hours had passed.

Her head weighed a ton, her vision swimming as she faded in and out of consciousness. She had chosen to rest for roughly ten minutes before continuing, though that didn't seem to help at all, as the downsides of her Quirk continued returning.

"Ooh, look who's here!"

Rie stumbled through the clearing, grabbing her arm in pain as her vision swam. She groaned, her lead-weighted head hanging as she gazed up at the expectant Heroes.

"How long..." was all she managed to utter.

"3 hours, 24 minutes and 27 seconds," Aizawa stated blankly, displaying the device before pocketing it, "it seems like it'll be a while before the rest of the class arrives, so get inside."

He jerked his thumb to the lodge behind him, the girl nodding, exhausted.

"Oh, and Dart?" he reverted back to her Villain name, seeing as the pair were now alone; after receiving a small 'huh?' in response, "you'll be helping out with lunch and dinner, so I'll be calling you down."

She didn't listen to him, dying to just rest and say 'good riddance' to her dizziness.