After the incident, security inside U.A increased once again.
This time, the measures were far more serious.
The school installed detectors capable of sensing energy fluctuations across the campus, specifically to identify possible teleportation attempts or spatial distortions that could signal an infiltration.
In addition to that, the internal response systems against threats were also reinforced heavily.
It was the bare minimum they could do after everything that had happened.
Luckily, U.A already had experience handling situations like these.
Compared to two years ago, the teachers and staff were far more prepared, coordinated, and efficient when reacting to emergencies.
Even so—
The atmosphere around the school had changed.
There was tension now.
Everyone could feel it.
Meanwhile, it took Raiden a couple of days to fully get used to his new base form.
The tail especially was troublesome.
Since it was smaller and positioned differently compared to the one from his full Mewtwo transformation, his balance had changed subtly, forcing him to relearn certain movements.
At first, he accidentally knocked objects over more than once while walking.
And sleeping comfortably had become strangely difficult too.
Still, little by little, he adapted.
After finally getting used to the changes, moving around started to feel natural again.
Actually—
Being physically closer to his combat form now made certain movements easier than before.
His reflexes felt sharper.
His body responded faster.
And fighting itself felt smoother and more instinctive.
Raiden lowered his gaze slightly toward his forearm.
There—
The glowing number had changed once again.
Seeing it made him wonder.
What exactly was the limit of his power?
Could it keep increasing forever?
No.
Surely not.
Nothing was limitless.
Everything had a ceiling eventually.
Even power.
Still, he could not deny his curiosity.
That day, instead of training, Raiden decided to walk around the center of the city for a while.
The Sports Festival was approaching soon, and because of that, almost the entirety of U.A was focused on preparations for the event.
Students talked about it constantly.
Teachers were busy organizing security and logistics.
Even the atmosphere around the city felt more energetic than usual.
Raiden took advantage of the calmer day to go look for something sweet to eat.
And well—
He was not alone.
Walking beside him was Nejire.
Originally, Raiden had planned to go by himself.
However, while leaving the school, he found Nejire near the entrance talking excitedly with a couple of students.
So naturally—
He invited her to come along.
Both of them walked around the street, it was a coffee shop, it had quite nice ranked, when they entered the place was quite cute.
It was like an old cabin, what more there was a chimney inside, and it was quite comfy, the windows were decorated with screens that showed a snowy landscape.
Both of them took the menu and started look for something after a moment both of them decided.
Raiden went for a double capuchino , and nejire for a mocha late extra large cream with extra chocolate and a spoon of ice cream.
To eat, Raiden choose a chocolate cake and nejire well ice-cream with brownie, that in Raiden taste it was indeed a better option, however he was happy with his cake.
"So, what do you want to tell me? I know you enough to notice when something is bothering you," exclaimed Raiden while taking another bite of cake.
The two of them were sitting quietly inside the common room, the atmosphere calmer than usual after everything that had happened during the last few days.
"Well…" muttered Nejire while avoiding his gaze for a moment. "In truth… I feel a little embarrassed to ask."
At those words, Raiden stopped playing with the spoon he had been levitating around absentmindedly.
The utensil froze in midair while he turned his full attention toward her.
Nejire noticed the movement and took a small breath before continuing.
"Well, actually, it's pretty simple," she said quietly. "I don't have anything against you, so don't misunderstand me…"
She hesitated for a second.
"But I'm a little jealous of you."
That sentence immediately made Raiden frown.
He genuinely did not understand where this conversation was going.
"Jealous?" asked Raiden honestly. "How? Why?"
The confusion in his voice was completely genuine.
Why would Nejire be jealous of him?
She was one of the strongest students in U.A.
One of the Big Three.
One of the people he respected the most.
"Well…" muttered Nejire while looking down at the table for a moment. "During the last battle…"
Her expression turned serious.
"You fought at the level of the number one hero."
Raiden stayed silent.
"It was impressive," she continued quietly. "No… more than impressive."
Her fingers tightened slightly around the fork she was holding.
"And there, during that fight, I realized something."
This time she looked directly at him.
"Compared to you… I'm advancing too slowly."
Raiden blinked slightly.
"Too slowly," repeated Nejire. "And now I don't even know if I can catch up anymore."
Silence filled the room for a moment before she continued speaking.
"Back in first year, I saw you as someone I truly needed to put effort into catching," explained Nejire with a small laugh. "You were strong, absurdly strong honestly, but still close enough that I could see the distance."
Her smile faded afterward.
"But now…"
She shook her head slightly.
"I honestly don't even know how to continue anymore."
Raiden stayed quiet while listening.
"I know this probably sounds like an inferiority complex," muttered Nejire. "And honestly… maybe it is."
She leaned back against the couch and sighed.
"But I don't want to be left behind."
Those words came out much more honestly than she probably intended.
"So I wanted to talk to you about it," she admitted.
Nejire then looked directly at him again.
"I know not all Quirks grow equally," she said calmly. "And I know not every Quirk has the same potential."
She pointed lightly toward herself afterward.
"But my Quirk isn't weak either, right?"
Her voice carried uncertainty this time.
"So… I should still be able to grow faster too… right?" asked the girl.
At those words, Raiden honestly did not know how to react.
She had just dropped an emotional bomb on him.
And the worst part—
She was not wrong.
Not all Quirks evolved at the same pace.
Not all abilities possessed the same ceiling.
And Raiden knew perfectly well that his own Quirk was absurd.
Completely absurd.
However—
That did not mean Nejire's Quirk was weak.
On the contrary.
Unless he went completely all out, there was practically no way he could defeat her consistently.
Her power, combat instincts, mobility, endurance, and output were all monstrous.
But therein lied the real problem.
If he truly decided to unleash everything against her—
Then his chances of winning would probably become absolute.
And Nejire knew that too.
"I know you can't really do much about it, and that most of it depends on me," exclaimed the girl while looking directly at Raiden. "But still… I needed to say it."
Nejire then leaned slightly forward across the table.
"And I want you to help me."
Raiden blinked.
"Not by giving me advice," she clarified immediately. "I want you to help me in spars."
At those words, Raiden raised an eyebrow slightly.
"But not regular spars," continued Nejire seriously. "I want you to go all out."
Her expression this time carried none of her usual playful energy.
"I want you to fight me as if you were fighting a top villain."
The air between them became heavier for a moment.
"I need to adapt to fighting someone stronger than me," exclaimed Nejire firmly. "Otherwise I'll never catch up."
"You want me to go all out?" repeated Raiden while looking at her carefully.
Truthfully—
He had never truly done that before.
Not even once.
If he really stopped holding back, there were countless ways he could instantly end a fight.
He could activate Disable and cripple someone's abilities immediately.
Well… at this point his classmates had already started developing counters against that technique, making it far less effective against people who knew him.
But still—
In Raiden's mind, there were hundreds of ways he could defeat almost anyone if he truly stopped restraining himself.
And that was exactly why he hesitated.
However—
Seeing the unusual seriousness in Nejire's face…
Seeing how genuine she was being…
Raiden finally nodded slowly.
"I'll help you," exclaimed Raiden calmly. "There's no problem with that."
"Good, good," nodded Nejire immediately, her mood visibly improving.
Right at that moment, the coffee and cakes they had ordered finally arrived at the table.
The atmosphere relaxed slightly afterward, and the topic naturally shifted into lighter conversation.
Soon enough, the two of them started talking about a movie Raiden had watched the previous day.
At that, Nejire suddenly started pouting.
A very obvious pout.
"What happened?" asked Raiden while looking at her face.
She was clearly annoyed about something now.
Honestly, Nejire suddenly ignoring him like this felt almost identical to when someone denied her sweets.
"I understand you're focused on your hero career," exclaimed Nejire while puffing her cheeks slightly. "And honestly, after everything that happened lately, I get it. I'm focused too."
She pointed accusingly at him with her fork.
"But you can't seriously be this blind."
At those words, Raiden immediately understood what she meant.
Of course he did.
He was not dumb.
It was just that Nejire naturally acted playful and affectionate with almost everyone, so he genuinely had never been completely sure.
"So I got tired of waiting," exclaimed Nejire with a mischievous smile.
Raiden blinked.
"I'll take the initiative this once."
She then took a sip of her gigantic coffee before casually dropping the next sentence.
"This is a date."
Raiden froze completely.
"That's the second thing I wanted to tell you."
With that, Nejire calmly continued eating her cake, leaving Raiden completely speechless sitting across from her.
For exactly two seconds.
Then suddenly—
Raiden started laughing.
Not mockingly.
Genuinely.
"You really are unbelievable," exclaimed Raiden while shaking his head with amusement.
Nejire smiled proudly at that reaction.
"In that case…" continued Raiden while picking up his fork again.
"Thank you."
He smiled lightly afterward.
"I had a really good date… even if it wasn't exactly planned."