In Tokyo, Y/N hummed a small tune—something ancient and wordless that predated human memory—as she methodically packed her belongings, preparing to return to Musutafu. The fluorescent lights overhead flickered slightly in response to her presence, as they always did.

The doors burst open with enough force to crack the frame. Geto stood there, his expression carefully controlled but his eyes betraying something close to desperation. "Stay," he said, the word coming out more like a command than a request, though they both knew he had no authority to command a god anything. "Just a few more days."

Y/N sighed, a sound like distant thunder, and reached out to pat her best friend's head with surprising gentleness for someone who could level cities with a thought. He's worried. How cute. "I'll be fine, Suguru," she said, her tone carrying that characteristic blend of absolute confidence and playful dismissiveness that made it impossible to tell if she was being serious or mocking. "Besides, I've put off going to Musutafu long enough, wouldn't you say?"

"But—"

"Mahito and Kenjaku are defeated. Dust. Gone. Erased from existence." She waved her hand dismissively, and for just a moment, the air shimmered with residual cursed energy. "My time here is over. You know how I hate overstaying my welcome."

She stood then, her full height somehow seeming to fill the room despite being physically average, and pulled Geto into a hug. The gesture was warm, genuine—a stark contrast to the godlike power that radiated from her very being. "I love you," she murmured against his shoulder, her voice softer now, almost human. "And I'll always be there for you. You know that, right? I'm the strongest, after all. Distance means nothing to me."

She pulled back with that insufferable grin of hers, the one that said she knew exactly how flustered she'd made him, and then she was gone—not walking away, just gone, leaving Geto standing there with crimson creeping up his neck.

Back in Musutafu, King lay sprawled across the training ground, his magnificent fur singed and burned off one entire side of his massive body. The kaiju-wolf's left eye blinked slowly, the membrane clouded with pain. Each breath came out as a low rumble that shook the ground beneath him.

Bakugo stood before All Might and Midoriya, his palms crackling and popping with barely contained explosions, sweat dripping down his temples. "The damn wolf was too rough with us!" he snarled, jabbing a finger toward King's prone form. "I don't give a shit what Y/N's been through in Tokyo—she's still the strongest, isn't she? So why the hell does her familiar get to act like we're the enemy?"

She left us here. She left ME here, Bakugo thought bitterly, though he'd never say it aloud. Off playing hero in another world while we're stuck dealing with her oversized pet.

Just then, the air pressure changed. The temperature dropped. Reality seemed to bend slightly at its edges.

Y/N materialized in the center of the training ground, her presence announced by nothing more than the sudden weight of divine attention pressing down on everyone present.

Bakugo gasped—actually gasped, which he'd deny later—and stepped back involuntarily.

King lifted his massive head, his remaining good eye meeting his master's stare with something like relief. A low whine escaped his throat.

Y/N's eyes swept across the scene, taking in everything in an instant: King's injuries, the defensive postures, the lingering scent of Bakugo's explosions on her familiar's fur. Her expression remained perfectly neutral, but the air around her began to shimmer with barely suppressed power. "What happened?" Her voice was light, almost conversational, but everyone present felt their instincts screaming danger.

All Might stepped forward quickly, hands raised in a placating gesture, his smile strained. "Young Y/N! There's nothing to worry about! Just a small training incident, nothing that won't heal with—"

"King is hurt." Y/N's gaze fixed on All Might, and for a moment, he saw something vast and terrible looking back at him through human eyes. Her smile was completely absent, and somehow that was more frightening than any show of anger. "Why would anyone want to hurt my familiar?"

They attacked him. They hurt what's mine, she thought, and deep beneath Musutafu, something ancient stirred in response to her displeasure.

Bakugo scoffed, though his hands trembled slightly. He spat on the ground, forcing himself to meet her eyes with his characteristic defiance. "He tried to hurt us first! Only because you got hurt in Tokyo—the mutt went berserk!"

Y/N's head tilted slightly, and her expression shifted into something that might have been amusement. "Oh? King was worried about me? How sweet." She looked at her familiar with genuine affection. "But you know I can't be hurt, don't you, boy? I'm the strongest, after all."

King raised his massive head, the movement causing ash and debris to cascade from his singed fur. With visible effort, the kaiju-wolf pushed himself up onto his paws—each one the size of a car—and lowered his head in a gesture of submission. A low, rumbling whine escaped his throat, apologetic and weary. Through their bond, Y/N felt his exhaustion, his frustration. Tired. So tired of these humans who never show her respect. Who never understand what she is.

Y/N's expression softened immediately, that insufferable grin returning as she reached up to pat his massive furry head, her hand barely covering a fraction of the space between his ears. "It's okay, boy," she murmured, her voice carrying that same warmth she'd shown Geto. "I know you were just looking out for me. Good boy." The divine energy radiating from her touch began to heal the worst of his burns, fur slowly regenerating where it had been scorched away.

Then she turned to face Bakugo, and her smile took on that characteristic edge—playful, dangerous, impossible to read. "Well then, Katsuki," she said, his given name rolling off her tongue with deliberate familiarity that made him bristle. "Congratulations. You've managed to pass the exam." She waved her hand dismissively, and the oppressive weight of her presence lifted slightly. "I'm stopping this before anyone else gets hurt. Wouldn't want to explain to Nezu why I let my familiar eat one of his precious students, after all."

Though honestly, King deserves a treat after putting up with their disrespect, she thought, the corner of her mouth twitching with barely suppressed amusement.

Without waiting for a response, she turned on her heel and walked toward the exit, each step somehow both casual and impossibly graceful. King fell into step at her heels, his massive form casting a shadow that swallowed half the training ground. The ground trembled slightly with each of his footfalls, a reminder of what he was, what she was.

All Might sighed deeply, his shoulders sagging with relief as the tension finally broke. "I... agree with what Young Y/N said," he announced, his voice carrying across the training ground despite its weariness. "Young Bakugo, Young Midoriya—you've both won."

Midoriya approached carefully, almost reverently, holding the power-dampening cuffs in his trembling hands. "All Might, sir, I—"

"It's alright, my boy." All Might extended his wrists, and Midoriya gingerly snapped the cuffs into place.

The hero grunted immediately, his eyes widening. Heavier than I thought, he realized, feeling the weight of the quirk-suppressing technology settle around his wrists like anchors. The familiar hum of One For All dimmed to barely a whisper. But he straightened his shoulders and pushed through it, forcing his trademark smile back onto his face. "Shall we?"

They all walked out together, the afternoon sun casting long shadows across the training ground. As they emerged into the main corridor, Uraraka came rushing forward, her face flushed with excitement and concern. She made a beeline for Y/N first—because of course she did, everyone always gravitated toward the god among them—but then quickly turned to Izuku, her smile bright and genuine.

"Deku! You won!" she exclaimed, practically bouncing on her toes. "I knew you could do it! Congratulations!"

Izuku smiled at his friend, the expression automatic and warm, but his attention—his focus—remained locked on Y/N, who stood off in the corner away from where the other students were having their matches. She was feeding King strips of beef jerky, each piece disappearing into the kaiju-wolf's massive jaws with surprising delicacy. The familiar's tail swished slowly, contentedly, a stark contrast to the violence from moments before.

He looks so peaceful now, Izuku thought, his analytical mind cataloging every detail. But...

Even from this distance, even with King's posture relaxed and his remaining eye half-lidded with satisfaction, Izuku could swear he saw something else lurking in that ancient gaze. Hatred. Pure, undiluted, primordial hatred that made his blood run cold and his instincts scream at him to run, to hide, to get as far away as possible.

And it was directed right at him and Bakugo.

No, Izuku corrected himself, his hand unconsciously moving to his notebook pocket, fingers twitching with the need to document this observation. Mostly at Kacchan. Definitely mostly at Kacchan.

The wolf's good eye flickered toward Bakugo for just a fraction of a second, and Izuku saw the way King's lip curled ever so slightly, revealing teeth the size of daggers. The message was clear: You hurt my master's pride. You made her come back early. I don't forget.

Izuku shuddered, a full-body tremor that he tried to disguise as excitement. King holds grudges. Note to self: never, ever get on that thing's bad side. Or Y/N's, for that matter.

"Oi, Deku, you listening?" Uraraka's voice cut through his thoughts.

"Y-yes! Sorry, I was just—" He gestured vaguely toward Y/N and King, hoping Uraraka would understand without him having to explain the existential dread currently coursing through his veins.

Kacchan's going to be threatened pretty often, it seems, Izuku thought, glancing at his childhood friend who stood with his arms crossed, deliberately not looking at the kaiju-wolf but with tension written in every line of his body. And honestly? After what just happened, I can't really blame King for it.