I own nothing from both series. I do this cause I'm a weeb.

Kan Sekijiro, Blood hero: Vlad King, was not a morning person.

As far back as he could remember, mornings did nothing but bring pain. Growing up did little in his opinion, and becoming a teacher only strengthened it. Mornings were the worst, and nothing would change that. Still, as a teacher and pro hero, Sekijiro had no choice but to endure the wicked time and go on throughout the day like any other.

That didn't mean he had to suffer in silence; however, for what better way to start the day with a nice cup of joe, maybe a sweet or two to go with it.

That sounded divine.

He walked to the teacher's lounge and made a b-line for the coffee maker. No colleague was in sight, which meant they were already preparing for the first day of classes. It was still early, plenty of time to make a pot for himself. Sekijiro skillfully prepared everything as he waited for the machine to finish his awaited nirvana, patiently waiting for his drink to be ready.

One minute.

It wasn't even one minute.

It wasn't even one minute into the brewing process did the smell reach Sekijiro's nose. Not one minute went by that Sekijiro knew-

"Why is the coffee maker on fire?!"

Today's morning was going to be a long one.

He jinxed himself. It wasn't just that morning that would be a long one.

"Who would've thought that this entire week would be hell, eh Vlad?"

"Shut it, Hizashi. I have work that needs to be done."

"Yoww! Alright, see ya then!" He watched the man prance off. Damn him. "Don't need to tell me twice when I'm not wanted. Geez!" And the man left, leaving Sekijiro alone.

Actually, he wished he was truly alone. Too bad the several stacks of paperwork were there to keep him company…

What a shame.

He slumped on chair he was on, his weight bending the metal. Sekijiro didn't care, couldn't care, he didn't have the time. Sekijiro needed to finalize all the paperwork in relation to the past week, along with apology letters regarding the injuries several students had been sent home with. A miscalculation on the staff of U.A's.

You see, Recovery Girl had left Japan for an untold amount of time, something he and his colleagues were not told of until it was too late. Apparently, there was a promising individual with a healing quirk in America, and the elder took the first plane to wherever without telling anyone, wanting to see for herself how promising this person was. With Recovery Girl no longer within the vicinity of U.A, the school was without their main source of medical expertise. Sekijiro could count on one hand how many times she had been on away trips, and he can count over hundreds of times how catastrophic it was when she was not here. U.A was the leading school in producing quality heroes, and Recovery Girl was the reason their mortality rate was at a winning zero percent.

The first day of school and someone was already injured. The second day and we quadruple that. By the end of the week, over fifty hero course students were injured in some way (mostly third-years), and a whole first-year class expelled from U.A.

Damn Aizawa and his "freedom of teaching". There were many students with amazing quirks in that class, yet the man had gotten rid of them, sent home injured no less. Zero potential, his ass. That was just uncalled for.

Anyways, Recovery Girl was not in the school, students were injured, complaints that they could not turn away were sent… The week was a total mess, something he and the otherswould have never had expected, and now he was doing paperwork almost 24/7. He didn't even bother taking a break, for whenever he had free time it was used to write a letter of apology. Unlike his coworkers, he was diligent with his duties, and the faster he got this done, the faster his suffering would end.

That's what he told himself to keep sane, anyways. With the number of physical letters sent to him, he was sure it would be a long time before that suffering was over.

Seriously, did no one think to use of an email?

The suffering finished the day after, and Sekijiro finally had time to relax. Unfortunately, that free time was short lived, because he had patrols he needed to do around U.A's neighborhood. Costume on, and eyes strained and bloodshot, Blood Hero: Vlad King was patrolling the streets, tired and weak from the stress of being a teacher.

Luckily, there were no incidents, and he was relieved rather quickly from his duty. It was evening time now, and nothing could stop him from walking home. Nothing could stop him from taking a nice long bath.

Nothing, except for the wonderful smell that would stop him dead in his tracks. One that happened to come from a secluded path he did not see.

It took him less than a minute to find the source. It took him less than a second to open the door. A small establishment hidden from the world, Leblanc, the store sign said. It didn't take much to figure out what the store sold, not if the smell was anything to go by.

Home could wait. He could use a cup. He certainly deserved.

Still in his hero-regalia, Sekijiro entered and studied the establishment. Modern would be the last way to describe the place, for the place looked run down yet new at the same time. Vintage or old school was the best way to describe it, and Sekijiro couldn't help but think that the place was owned by a person between the age of forty or fifty, trying to maintain the traditional coffee shop feel. He didn't expect a young man, probably in his early twenties, to be in charge, and he certainly didn't expect the young man to serve him the best cup of coffee he had in his entire life. Nothing compared to that moment, and nothing would be able to change his mind.

Inside a shop not too far away from U.A, Sekijiro found the pinnacle of caffeine. How this place had stayed hidden for so long was beyond him, and it felt criminal that he be the only one in the store. It goes without saying, but this would be the store he would visit before classes, before anything, really.

He was a loyal customer now, after all.

Amamiya Ren liked to tease people sometimes.

He was one of those people.

"You know, when you came running into the store, demanding caffeine while holding a knocked-out villain, I thought you were the villain." He didn't need to look at the young man to notice the amused look. "You're lucky I didn't call the police."

"I… apologize for that. Classes were going to start, and I was delayed quite a bit..." He could still remember Midnight chewing him out for being late. "I promise it won't happen again, young man."

"It's Amamiya Ren, mister hero." His drink was placed in front of him, he quickly grabbed it.

He took a sip.

Delicious.

"They call me Vlad King, but it's Kan Sekijiro. Sekijiro will do." He put down the cup. "Young man, I'd like another serving please." He was referring to his empty plate of curry, that too, was delicious.

Lunch Rush needed to up his game, a new challenger had come into the food industry.

"Again, with the young man?" Ren rolled his eyes. "Didn't I just introduce myself?"

"My apologies, it's just…" He was too used to it already. Young man/woman was his default for anyone. Victim, student he didn't know, reporter… It was his way of quickly referring to someone. He should probably change that for this young- Ah. He was doing it again.

"Boss."

"Pardon?" Sekijiro didn't understand. "Could you elaborate?"

"Boss." Ren said, hand waving as his back faced the hero. "From now on call me Boss."

"I won't accept anything else from you, Blood Hero."

That was the day Sekijiro began calling Amamiya Ren, Boss.

That was also the day that he learned that Ren kept his word, never once responding to Sekijiro otherwise.

What kind of customer service was that? Sekijiro didn't complain though.

Boss, for some reason, was a fitting nickname for Amamiya Ren.

He liked it.

One day, Leblanc was closed.

Sekijiro was still welcomed inside.

"I apologize for bothering you on your day off." Sekijro said. He really didn't mean for this. "I suppose I owe you one."

"Don't worry about it. Besides, couldn't leave someone hanging outside like that, especially after seeing that pouty expression on your face." Sekijiro already knew this, but Ren liked to tease people. A lot.

Also, Sekijiro Kan did not pout. He was just disappointed.

Very, very disappointed.

"Never mind that." Sekijiro steered the conversation away from another teasing bout. "You're done with those?"

"Yes, Sensei." A clean stack of papers was placed in front if him, marked with beautiful penmanship.

Sekijiro couldn't be anymore grateful.

One Saturday morning, Sekijirou ended up in front of a Leblanc, unaware that it closed that day. He planned on spending the morning there, grading papers while enjoying the drinks that were served before heading to the school to attend the teacher's weekly meeting. Plans went awry; however, and he was in front of a closed shop. Luckily, Ren was there, and had let him inside, even treating him to a drink. Ren said that it would be okay for him to stay, saying he had nothing better to do, and company was always welcomed. Sekijiro took his offer and sat down, assignments piled in front of him, ready to be marked.

He didn't expect for Ren to take a seat across from him, offering to help. He would've declined, but faster than he could imagine, Ren was already marking a few papers, using the copy of an answer sheet Sekijiro had in his hand. When and how did he get that, Sekijiro didn't know. He said that he didn't want to bother the shop owner any more than he had already, but the young man just chuckled, already halfway done with a stack. Sekijiro tried to get him to stop, that there was no need to help him, but the young man persisted, until eventually winning him over.

That day, Sekijiro made friends with the Amamiya Ren, and his impression of the young man skyrocketed that day.

It also helped that all his work was done that morning, leaving him with only a meeting to attend.

Sekijiro liked Amamiya Ren.

Visiting Leblanc on Saturdays had become a thing for Sekijiro, the first accident becoming a weekly routine over the year. He learned to enjoy the young man's company, even going as far to say that it was one of the few things he looked forward to, despite the Ren's sharp tongue. The year was almost at a close, and the two were talking about U.A.

Sekijiro wouldn't deny it, but he was the one to push the conversation that way, a purpose pushing him.

Throughout the year, there had been significant growth in a certain students academic record, an almost suspicious one. Thankfully, that suspicion was dealt within a heartbeat, the student proving her innocence, while pointing towards a direction a certain coffee shop was.

"Renren is suuuuuper good at teaching! Better than all of you!" was what she brazenly said, pointing towards a direction all the while. The handful of teachers who confronted her about this were confused on who she was referring to, but Sekijiro knew. Sekijiro knew exactly who she was talking about.

Amamiya Ren was the person behind one of the lowest grading first-year student's sudden rise in academics. Amamiya Ren was the person who tutored Hado Nejire. The young man even told Sekijiro about it once, vaguely referring to Nejire as "The bubbly hot chocolate addict who he helps". Sekijiro told the Mr. Principal about this, and in a heartbeat, the mouse had asked Sekijiro a favor. A rather large one.

A little hasty, Sekijiro thought, but considering Hado's grades before being tutored and during her time in middle school…

Yeah, what Ren did was a miracle. A damn fine miracle if Sekijiro ever saw one. It was because of this miracle that Sekijiro was here in Leblanc, talking to Ren about the school and all its glory. It was working, Sekijiro felt, and he needed just one more push to get the man into the position he needed.

Just one more push…

"U.A must be a hard place to get a job at." Ren said, eyes scanning a printout Sekijiro himself made. A printout of teacher's throughout U.A's history, himself included. "Everyone who works is a pro hero, each with a fairly good track record." Sekijiro patted himself on the back, he was also on that list.

"So, how the hell does the blood hero, who splattered his own blood everywhere during his debut, making several people scream in shock and disgust, manage to land a job there?"

Ah, there it was. The painful surprise attack that Amamiya Ren was capable of doing. Oh, how he almost forgot how the Boss loved to tease.

Almost.

"Jokes aside," Sekijiro did not go hot-blooded, not this times. "The school was founded on the idea of the cultivation of quality heroes, using hero teachers as models for the next generation-"

"Yet, they have the hero, who wore almost nothing during her debut, work around impressionable teenagers?" Ren said, eyebrow raised.

"Jokes aside," Sekijiro repeated, madly calm. "There's a reason why I'm here today-"

"Yep, to relieve your caffeine addiction." Sekijiro felt a vein pop, his mouth twitching a bit. Calm, stay calm- "I think we need to cut you off. Too much is bad for your blood pressure."

That did the trick.

"I control my blood! Blood pressure is literally the least of my problems!" Sekijro yelled, annoyed by the interruption. "I can literally pour blood out of my body, then pull it back in. I don't need you to, quote on quote, cut me off."

"Say that to the many people who had your blood splashed all over them." Sekijro didn't need to look at Ren to see the gigawatt smirk on his face. "In fact, I think I remember a customer tell me of the headlines on the paper the day after..."

"Don't you dare...!" Sekijiro was glaring, mission forgotten. "You wouldn't…!"

"What was it again?" Ren tapped his chin, rhythmically counting down until just the right beat. "Oh, that's it!"

"Don't say it!"

"Blood Hero: The Donor We Never Asked For!"

"AAAAAAARGH!" He was pulling his hair. It hurt, the memory hurt.

"Forecast of the day: Blood, Blood, and Blood!"

"NO!" Mission failed, mission failed.

"You know, I think there is a Hero Documentary about all the disastrous debuts of days old." Ren pulled out his phone, tapping on it until he found it. "Oh, there's a picture of you."

"Don't remind me!" His head was down on the table, memories resurfacing. "I wasn't able to show my face in public for a month after that…"

A familiar video could be heard from the young man's phone, making the hero go wide-eyed.

He remembers that video...

"Wow, that's actually gruesome…" Aghast, Ren showed him the video. "It's everywhere! Look!"

He didn't need to look, the pictures and videos were already coming back to him. "Please… just end me…!"

The Boss of Leblanc didn't. He never did. It was only until an hour passed did he stop, the pro hero in shambles as memories of old were brought back. That day, Sekijiro learned how merciless the Boss of Leblanc was. That day, Sekijiro remembered his dark past.

That day, Sekijro forgot to ask Amamiya Ren if he wanted to join U.A as a part-time teacher and would not remember until a time later.

That's a story for another day.

Stories are fun if you can make them fun.

Also I suck at endings of chapters.

See ya next time.