School matters were little more than a minor side event anyway. After all, this was Rin Hayami's last visit—she couldn't care less what anyone thought.
Her quirk undeniably qualified her for the entrance, and with her written test ranking first in the year, gaining admission to U.A. was entirely possible.
…
Time flew, and before she knew it, it was February 26th.
U.A. High School, Hero Course—Entrance Exam Briefing Hall.
"So many new faces," Rin muttered.
Perhaps because the seating was abundant, she couldn't immediately spot the main characters from the anime. Most of the students here were extras—either destined to fail the exam or be assigned to other classes—hardly worth focusing on.
"I'm so nervous… so nervous…"
Beside her, Toru Hagakure shrank into herself, muttering the same phrase over and over.
At that moment, the hall lights snapped on one by one. From the far platform, a man with an exaggerated pompadour and bright yellow goggles threw his arms wide and bellowed with enthusiasm:
"Welcome, examinees, to my live broadcast! Everybody say hey!"
Just like in the story, Present Mic began explaining the rules: students would be assigned to one of seven simulation arenas, labeled A through G. Each arena contained three classes of numerous simulated enemies. Each enemy had a point value—1, 2, or 3—depending on the difficulty of defeating them. Students had to defeat enemies and earn points to meet the entrance standard.
Additionally, there was a single 0-point enemy: a powerful nuisance whose purpose was solely to interfere with examinees. Defeating it had no effect, so encountering it meant one should run immediately.
As Rin expected, during the rules explanation, a diligent Iida tried to cause a scene and ended up calling out Izuku Midoriya in the process.
"The world line hasn't shifted at all," Rin murmured, pondering whether her involvement in the main events might one day alter the future.
Lost in thought, she felt Toru lean over. "Rin-kun… which arena are you in? Are we together?"
"Let me see."
Rin picked up the small card in her hand and glanced at its contents: Simulation Arena B.
"I'm in A… not together, huh? What a shame," Toru said, disappointment in her voice.
The next second, though, Toru noticed Rin's expression had gone oddly tense.
He was frozen, eyes locked on the character card in his hands.
Name: Rin HayamiGender: Female
…
Female?!
Female!!
emmm…
"Goshdammit!" Rin swore aloud, leaving Toru completely bewildered.
"Hey! Student in the corner! No swearing in public! What are you staring at? I'm talking to you!" Present Mic suddenly pointed at the flustered Rin.
"Uh… sorry," Rin muttered.
He'd originally wanted to call out the school's oversight, but with so many eyes on him, he swallowed his indignation.
Toru stifled a laugh upon noticing the gender.
"…."
…
Over half an hour later, Simulation Arena B.
"This is huge."
Indeed, the real-world scenery dwarfed the anime version—the main gate alone was magnificent.
Rin stepped forward, spotting Midoriya standing near the back of the crowd.
If she remembered correctly, he had just inherited One For All from All Might today. His body still couldn't withstand the strain; even using one arm would leave him incapacitated.
"Still… seeing him so timid is pretty pathetic," Rin muttered, a small smirk tugging at her lips. She decided to approach.
"Hey, Midoriya."
She tapped him on the shoulder from behind. The green-haired boy jumped in shock, stepping back. "W-Who are you?"
"I…"
Realizing he didn't recognize her male form, Rin took advantage of the distraction. With everyone's attention on the arena, she activated a clone, transforming into Yukino before him.
"Recognize me now?"
Her voice had become a soft, melodic female tone.
"Ah… ah? Eh… it's you?!"
Midoriya froze for a few seconds, his face flushing crimson as he clumsily covered his mouth.
He remembered now—this was the girl at the seaside park training daily. Her figure had left a deep impression on him. Whenever he felt like giving up, imagining her pushing herself to the limit reignited his courage.
"This… his face is so red…"
Rin instinctively stepped back a bit. Though she admired this hot-blooded protagonist, his flustered gaze was irritating.
"I'm just here to say hi—and wish you an easy exam," Rin said, trailing off. Without waiting for a reply, she immediately turned and walked away, leaving Midoriya dazed in place.
"Was that… she actually spoke to me?"
His attention was soon caught by another girl standing nearby—Ochaco Uraraka.
…
"Histart!"
At that moment, Present Mic's wild voice rang out from the distant tower. "What's wrong? There's no countdown in a real battle! Move it, move it—the match has already started!"
With that, the previously relaxed students all jolted and sprinted toward the streets of the simulation arena.
"I'm up next."
Rin felt a sudden surge of nervousness. Glancing back at the still-dazed Midoriya, she didn't linger. Bending her legs, she sprinted forward with grace and speed.
"Training wasn't in vain."
Yukino was fast—but compared to those using their quirks, she still had a ways to go.
"X."
Taking advantage of the distraction, Rin split off Mysterious Heroine X. She slowed Yukino's pace while sending X at a terrifying speed toward a target a hundred meters away.
"Die!"
Swinging her weapon, a shockwave cut through the air over dozens of meters, effortlessly cleaving a massive green mechanical enemy in two.
1 Point Acquired.
"Powerful…"
It was difficult to describe—controlling X in battle revealed the superiority of this body. She unleashed strength far beyond normal limits, instantly shredding the mechanical enemy.
Unfortunately, she could only maintain X's form for five minutes at a time.
"Better make the most of it."
Watching other students rapidly eliminate targets with their quirks, Rin inhaled deeply.
"Accelerate."
BANG!
X propelled herself with incredible force, vanishing from the original spot and rushing deep into the arena streets.
"Saber!"
Instinctively, she shouted a phrase filled with murderous intent. The 3-point enemy just exiting the street hadn't even turned when a shockwave obliterated it into pieces.