Izuku Midoriya clenched his fists.
All Might's words were clear: this effort was doomed from the start.
In a society saturated with quirks, what could an ordinary person really achieve, no matter how hard they trained? Perhaps this girl had faced some kind of despair, yet still refused to give up, silently pushing herself to the limit, day after day.
…
BANG!
Hundreds of meters away, Rin was completely unaware that her struggle had already been analyzed and judged by the two onlookers. She kicked hard, sending the television atop the cabinet flying.
"Owww—ugh…"
Pain surged through her like a tidal wave. Even with the system's analgesic ability, it was still almost too much to bear.
She raised her bloodied arm, watching in amazement as the wounds healed visibly before her eyes. She didn't linger on it, instead hobbling over to a discarded table and collapsing onto it, gasping for breath.
"Ah… finally some relief."
She gazed up at the sky, the soft morning light bathing her face in warmth.
"I can't believe I've lasted this long…"
Perhaps it was because her clone's death didn't affect her real body. For exercises that posed no real danger, she didn't mind pushing herself a little further.
She hugged her knees to her chest. Her thighs, hidden under her skirt, throbbed with fatigue in a way she couldn't quite describe.
Maybe that was why she was so aware of her own vulnerability.
"If a villain appeared now… that would be bad."
For some reason, Rin felt a faint unease.
"No… can't rest yet."
Thinking of the remaining hundred-plus hours of training, she gritted her teeth and sat up.
…
Watching the girl resume her relentless training without a moment's pause, Midoriya took a deep breath, grabbed a tire lying on the ground, hoisted it onto his back, and sprinted toward the distant beach with all his strength.
If a girl could push herself this hard, he shouldn't waste time either.
"Looks like this kid's been seriously inspired," All Might thought, pleased with Midoriya's progress. Yet his gaze drifted to Rin, worry creeping in.
A recovery-type quirk wasn't unconditional; it drew upon the body's nutrients or latent energy to rapidly heal injuries. Repeatedly injuring oneself and relying on self-healing, like this girl, could easily backfire.
Acting on instinct, All Might moved toward her.
…
"Hey, young lady. You can't do this."
When he got close enough, he fully entered Rin's line of sight. He tried his gentlest tone, issuing a friendly warning.
"Even training must follow certain rules. Overexerting yourself will only be counterproductive."
"All Might?"
Rin spoke almost instinctively.
"Huh?" All Might jumped back in shock. "You know who I am?"
As All Might became cautious, Rin realized she'd made a bold move. She had spoken his name without hesitation. Clearly, All Might had long concealed the fact that his muscular form could only be maintained three hours a day—a secret known to only a select few.
Rin, a complete stranger, had no reason to recognize him at first glance.
"Ahaha," Rin scratched her head awkwardly. "I thought you were All Might, but it turns out you're just some skeleton of a man. Guess it was an illusion? Yeah… there's no way this scrawny version could compare to the real All Might."
All Might's forehead darkened with a line of frustration. "Skeleton of a man? Really? That's… rude."
Still, Rin's intuition was impressive. She had nearly guessed his identity, yet hadn't fully concluded it. That was a relief.
"Look," he continued, "your training is too dangerous. Even if you want to get stronger, you need to be careful."
"Nope." Rin sat up, her black stockings swaying slightly beneath the hem of her robe, speckled with blood. "This is my quirk."
"Quirk?"
"Don't worry about me," she said, hopping off the table with a carefree wave. Then, spinning around, she ran off into the distance. "I know what I'm doing."
All Might watched her stubborn back, momentarily at a loss for words.
"Persuasion fails… she really is a stubborn child."
"By the way…"
As Rin rounded a corner, she suddenly looked back and spoke.
"What is it?" All Might perked up.
"I'm a boy."
…
…
Vacation arrived quickly, and Midoriya's special training was drawing to a close. The U.A. entrance exams were approaching. They had a silent agreement: neither interfered with the other, each training at opposite ends of the seaside park.
All Might had initially worried that Rin might push herself too far, but he quickly realized his concern was unnecessary.
The girl was indeed growing day by day, with no visible mistakes in her method.
"How is she able to push herself this far?"
Once again seeing her train at full intensity, Midoriya's expression grew tense, his clenched hands trembling.
During this period, he had thought he'd trained to his absolute limits, even adding harsher exercises beyond All Might's instructions.
Yet it still couldn't compare to the girl's relentless effort. She seemed to flirt with death daily, gritting her teeth through sheer pain.
The image of the delicate, long-haired Yukinoshita Yukino came to mind, and every time she showed suffering, Midoriya's chest tightened.
All Might, too, felt uneasy—but knowing she wouldn't actually die from her self-imposed training, he decided not to intervene.
It was her choice.
…
BANG!
Her fist smashed into glass, and when she pulled her hand out, it was covered in shards and blood. The continuously healing flesh twitched as tiny fragments shifted within, causing her forehead to glisten with cold sweat.
Violent training time: 299 hours.
Though she had trained far more than this in reality, the system only counted exercises performed under sufficient injury as valid. Thus, most of Rin's efforts had officially "wasted."
"Half a year ago, this pain would've made me cry like a baby."
Repeated exposure to pain had honed her willpower and gradually numbed her sensitivity.
Rin clenched her teeth, removing the glass shards, and after letting the wounds heal, prepared for the final hour of training.
Her second clone—the mysterious heroine X—was about to appear.
Then, finally, she would truly possess power.