[quote=Mach2]
All this talk of parenting has me thinking. Ash's sister was killed in battle in her third year. I feel like it's unlikely her parents will be all "Oh? It's your third year at the academy? Yeah, we cool, go have fun!" So there's likely a bit of tension between Ash and her parents this year. Hell, even she's probably unsure about doing the third year.
[/quote]

Presumably she's at least 18, so they couldn't exactly do a whole lot.