After Mewtwo dismissed the rest of the students under his care, they all headed off toward their respective internships. One by one, they left the training grounds after completing their final training session before the internship period officially began.
That left Mewtwo alone with Midoriya.
The moment the last student disappeared into the distance, Midoriya found himself swallowing nervously.
This week had been exhausting.
Far more exhausting than he had ever imagined possible.
At first, he had thought U.A.'s regular training was intense.
Then he had thought the Sports Festival was intense.
Then he had believed his previous sessions with All Might were intense.
Now he knew none of those compared to training under Mewtwo.
The regime the older student followed was absurd.
Completely absurd.
The worst part was that the others looked accustomed to it.
Bakugo complained constantly, yet somehow kept up.
Kirishima looked like he was having the time of his life.
Ochako somehow managed to smile through the suffering.
And the rest moved through the exercises as if they had accepted this madness as a normal part of their lives.
Midoriya, on the other hand, was still trying to understand how any of them survived it.
Taking advantage of his healing abilities, Mewtwo practically never allowed them to fully rest.
Not because he was cruel.
Because, technically, rest wasn't necessary.
Whenever exhaustion accumulated too much, he compensated for it with life dew, turning a two hours session into 8 with ease.
As a result, they were constantly pushed toward their limits.
Then pushed beyond them.
Then dragged back and forced to do it again.
And somehow, despite how miserable it often felt, it worked.
It worked incredibly well.
Now, however, there was a new problem.
Everyone else was leaving.
Which meant Midoriya had another entire week ahead of him.
Alone.
With Mewtwo.
The thought alone made him nervous.
There was a good side and a bad side to that situation.
The bad side was obvious.
The training itself was ridiculous.
Stressful.
Painful.
Mentally exhausting.
Sometimes physically terrifying.
There were moments during the week when Midoriya had genuinely questioned whether Mewtwo was trying to train him or kill him.
The older student always healed him afterward, of course.
But that didn't make the process any less frightening.
However, there was also a good side.
A very good side.
The results.
Unlike many forms of training, Mewtwo's methods felt frighteningly close to actual combat situations.
In fact, during his first few days, Midoriya had genuinely felt like he was fighting for his life.
That pressure forced him to improve.
Forced him to adapt.
Forced him to think faster.
And now, looking back, the difference was obvious.
He had improved tremendously.
Not enough to match the others.
At least not yet.
Students like Bakugo, Kirishima, and the rest had been training under Mewtwo for much longer.
Their instincts were sharper.
Their reactions faster.
Their understanding of combat deeper.
Still, Midoriya had made significant progress.
He could react faster.
He could dodge more efficiently.
He could counterattack instead of simply enduring.
And perhaps most importantly, he could adapt to unexpected situations much better than before.
The improvement was undeniable.
As the last of the students disappeared to prepare for their internships, Midoriya tightened his fists.
Mentally preparing himself.
Ready for whatever new nightmare Mewtwo had prepared for him.
However, something unexpected happened.
Mewtwo slowly descended from the air.
His psychic glow faded.
Moments later, he undid his transformation and returned to his human form.
Raiden stretched slightly before placing his hands behind his head.
Then, completely casually, he spoke.
"Let's go eat. We have a lot to discuss about what you need to do next."
Midoriya froze.
For a moment, he genuinely thought he had misheard.
Eat?
Not train?
Not fight?
Not dodge flying boulders?
Not survive another impossible exercise?
Just... eat?
The green-haired boy stood there, stunned.
Meanwhile, Raiden had already started walking away at a relaxed pace, as if inviting someone to lunch after class was the most normal thing in the world.
Midoriya blinked several times.
His brain taking a few seconds to process the situation.
Then he hurried after him.
"Ah—wait!"
And just like that, the two of them left the training grounds behind.
They moved toward the coffee shop and fast-food restaurant inside U.A.'s campus. Earlier that day, Raiden had discovered they were serving a new type of fries covered with some kind of spicy sauce. Surprisingly, they were really good, so he had already decided that was where he wanted to eat.
During the walk, he didn't say much.
Midoriya simply followed a few steps behind him in silence.
For the most part, the boy looked lost in thought, though Raiden suspected that wasn't the whole reason. More than once he noticed Midoriya subtly maintaining some distance between them, as if instinctively trying to avoid getting too close.
Honestly, Raiden could understand why.
After all, his first week of training had probably been a traumatic experience.
When they finally arrived at the restaurant, Raiden immediately walked toward the counter.
"I'll take a double portion of the spicy fries, two burgers, and a large Coke."
The employee nodded and started entering the order.
Only then did Raiden turn toward Midoriya.
"You want something?"
The reaction was immediate.
Midoriya shook his head vigorously from side to side.
Almost too vigorously.
Raiden raised an eyebrow.
There was absolutely no way the boy wasn't hungry after everything they had done that day.
The kid had practically burned enough calories to feed an entire family.
Which meant he had refused purely out of instinct.
Probably because he was nervous.
Or intimidated.
Or both.
Raiden sighed.
"Also add a large combo."
He glanced at the menu for a second.
"Number two."
It looked like the tastiest option available.
Midoriya opened his mouth as if he wanted to protest, but Raiden had already paid.
A few minutes later, their food arrived.
Raiden picked up the trays and walked toward one of the quieter corners of the restaurant.
The table he chose was isolated from the rest of the customers, giving them some privacy.
Ironically, that only made Midoriya look more nervous.
That, in turn, irritated Raiden slightly.
Not because of Midoriya himself.
But because the boy genuinely looked as if he expected something terrible to happen.
Raiden sat down and grabbed one of the fries.
"You know, I'm not a monster."
Midoriya immediately straightened in his seat.
"I-I didn't say—"
"I know."
Raiden pointed a fry toward him.
"But you're acting like you're sitting across from a serial killer."
Midoriya nearly choked before he even started eating.
Raiden shook his head.
"I know my training can look harsh. Maybe even insane sometimes. But that's only because my Quirk allows it. And whether you like it or not, it's helped you."
He took the first bite of his fries before continuing.
"We're here because I want to discuss what you've improved and what you're still lacking. I do this once every week with everyone. It's just that this time the internships started before we could have that conversation."
As he spoke, he pointed toward Midoriya's untouched food.
"Eat."
Midoriya hesitated.
Then, after realizing Raiden wasn't going to continue until he did, he finally grabbed a burger.
"I still lack a lot of things," Midoriya admitted after a moment. "It's obvious. I can barely manage four percent of my power consistently. Technically, I still lack ninety-six percent."
Raiden blinked.
Then he stared at him.
"Eh?"
The response alone made Midoriya uncomfortable.
"You think once you can use one hundred percent you'll be ready?"
The surprise in Raiden's voice was genuine.
Midoriya blinked.
"I... won't?"
Raiden continued staring.
"Are you serious?"
Now Midoriya wasn't sure anymore.
He lowered his burger and started thinking.
Actually thinking.
After several seconds, he finally answered again.
"I lack control."
Raiden nodded.
"And experience."
Another nod.
"My reaction time isn't that great either."
Now Raiden looked interested.
Midoriya continued.
"I noticed it during training. You react almost instantly to everything. Whenever something changes, you adapt immediately. The only times you seemed slower were when we used complicated strategies."
He paused.
"Though honestly, I don't know if that was actual delay or if you were just analyzing what we were doing."
The green-haired boy sighed.
"After all, we still haven't managed to hit you."
This time Raiden smiled.
"Now that's a much better analysis."
Midoriya looked relieved.
"First, yes. You still lack control."
Raiden grabbed his burger and took a bite.
"Even the four percent isn't truly yours yet."
Midoriya frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"Your power is unstable."
Raiden spoke calmly.
"You're still leaking energy constantly."
Midoriya blinked.
"Leaking?"
"Think of it like a lantern in the middle of the night."
Raiden pointed toward him.
"For people like me—and honestly, I think Reiko can probably do something similar—you practically glow."
The explanation immediately caught Midoriya's attention.
"Your energy leaks everywhere. It makes it easy to track you. I don't even need to see you to know where you are."
Midoriya's eyes widened.
"Seriously?"
"Seriously."
Raiden took another bite.
"Most people won't notice it. But those who can sense energy? They'll pinpoint you instantly."
The older student shrugged.
"Though I suppose that's normal when you're using power that originally belonged to someone else."
Midoriya froze.
The burger slipped slightly from his hands.
For several seconds he didn't move.
Then his brain finally caught up with what had just been said.
"Wait."
Raiden continued eating.
"Wait."
Still eating.
"Wait, wait, wait, wait—"
Midoriya suddenly stood up from his chair.
"W-Why did you say inherited?!"
Several nearby students looked in their direction.
Raiden, meanwhile, calmly grabbed another fry.
"Well, that's obvious."
Midoriya looked as though his soul had left his body.
"OBVIOUS?!"
Raiden nodded.
"It's hard to explain."
He pointed a fry toward the green-haired boy.
"Your energy signature feels almost identical to All Might's."
Midoriya stopped breathing.
"It's like..." Raiden searched for the right words. "The same frequency. Not exactly the same, but close enough that the resemblance is impossible to miss."
The psychic student shrugged.
"And when I combine that with the fact that your body clearly isn't adapted to your own power..."
He took another bite.
"Well."
Raiden smiled casually.
"Bingo."