One: lonely.

Yueei is a beautiful school - all sleek corners and modern architecture on the outside, with traditional Japanese style classrooms on the inside. It's every parent's dream to send their child to a school like this. Among the top schools in the nation, Yuuei is known for spitting out successful students like a well-oiled machine.

But no one ever talks about what else happens within its walls.

And like a complete idiot, Izuku shows up to school with bandages still wrapped around his fingers, and one still plastered over his cheek.

"Oh my gosh… a fight this early in the school year?" A girl whispers rather noisily to her friend.

"I can't believe there's a delinquent at Yueei…"

"That's so disappointing! I thought coming here would separate us from losers like that…"

Izuku abruptly ducks into the boy's bathroom on his right, away from their prying eyes and whispering voices. He slams into a stall and crouches over the toilet, breathing harshly.

Get away, get away, get away, get away, get away, get awa-

Izuku retches, but nothing comes up. He didn't eat breakfast this morning anyway.

A familiar ache comes to his calf, and Izuku brings his pant leg up. Purple and black. Another bruise. He checks on the one he received a few days ago when he hid in Aizawa's cafe, the one on his right forearm. It's begun to yellow out, but it's still large.

Again… It's happening again… I thought it was over… With a deep breath, he shuts down his nerves. Control it.

Izuku stands and flushes the toilet, just for routine's sake. He manages to splash some water on his face without wetting his bandages too much and stares at himself in the mirror. He looks like a mess - unruly dark green curls, almost black, and bags under his eyes. Even under the uniform, it's obvious that he is thin. It's clear he hasn't been taking care of himself lately, and he hates that.

He's supposed to be better by now. Yuuei is supposed to be his second chance.

Maybe it's not over yet. This will blow over. I'll make friends and everyone will see that I'm not a delinquent and they'll forget about it… right?

Izuku smiles at his reflection.

They don't forget. In fact, almost everyone avoids him. It goes on for a few weeks, and just as Izuku is ready to give in to despair, he learns why.

"I've heard about that guy. Midoriya, right? One of my buddies went to the same junior high as him."

"Really? Was he a delinquent back then too?"

"Actually that's the thing, he wasn't. But get this - the dude apparently thinks Adolescence Syndrome is real."

"Wha-"

Izuku feels his blood run cold. It's only by chance that he heard his name being said, but it resulted in him hiding around the corner as two boys chat by an open window during the lunch period.

So that was why…

"Apparently he tried to convince his class and everything."

A classmate pushed him to the floor. Izuku sat up, palms behind him on the floor, and looked up with teary eyes.

"It's real! It happened to me!"

"Don't be stupid, Midoriya! That stuff's bullshit!"

Izuku sets his jaw, grinding his teeth in fury as tears come to his eyes at the memory. He pushes it all away and focuses on calming down.

"That's messed up."

"I know right?" A laugh. "That stuff's obviously fake."

Clenching his fists, Izuku steps out of his hiding place and walks towards them.

"Oh shit!" The other says, bumping his friend with an elbow. The pair watch as he walks resolutely past them, throwing them a cold stare.

It may make his reputation even worse, but he knows from experience that nothing can save it now.

For a reason he hasn't discovered yet, there is always one unused classroom left unlocked in the afternoons, down the second years' hallway. During lunch and after classes, Izuku comes here with his things to tackle his school work and… to pour over his notes on Adolescence Syndrome.

From what he can tell, this room is used for storage. There are multiple desks pushed against the wall, but there are also several pushed together in the middle of the room, creating a sort of group workspace. The first day he discovered this place, there were various supplies strewn all over - tubes filled with maps for history classes and charts for science, class-size sets of books for literature, meter sticks, boxes of brand new chalk, and so on. At the time, he had taken it upon himself to organize the things against the wall. Now, the room is fairly clean, if not a bit dusty and stale.

Izuku shuffles towards the group of desks in the center of the room, setting his school bag on top. He could work on the math worksheet they received earlier in class today but…

"Izuku… what is this?" His mother's voice echoes slightly in his bedroom.

The teen turns a horrified stare towards her. "Mom…?"

"Izuku, what is this?!" She demands, rushing forward and voice cracking. "What is this, what is this?!" Inko grasps his arms, eyes already dripping fat tears as she takes in his various injuries. "What happened to you?!" She howls, clutching him close. "Who did this?!"

Izuku feels his throat close as tears flow from his own eyes. "Mom…!"

His body is covered in cuts, scrapes, and bruises.

Izuku rips open a notebook, one of many, fighting for control over his mind.

His research is here, written carefully and neatly with a set format. His first file on Adolescence Syndrome is on what it is, but the file after that is… on himself.

Midoriya Izuku

Due to various forms of bullying throughout junior high school, verbal attacks on him or gossips about his character manifest as physical wounds upon his body. The injuries appear with little delay from the moment the words are spoken, as cuts or bruises. The bruises are often large and dark in color, while the cuts are small and shallow.

Izuku picks up a pencil and scratches in an update.

April.

It was assumed that removal from the junior high school situation due to graduation would improve conditions. This proved to be true until new gossip began to spread between the students of Yuuei.

No solution is currently visible.

Sighing, he sets the pencil down and rests his chin in one hand, staring disinterestedly at the window across the room from him. The afternoon sunlight streams through the glass in slants. He can see some of Yuuei's cherry blossom trees from here…

His vision blurs and his throat closes.

A single tear escapes him.

May

"There… we… go!" Uraraka Ochako picks up a heavy cardboard box out of a moving truck and turns to take it up to the apartment she and her family are working on.

The people moving in don't have many things, and for that, Ochako is grateful. It seems to be only a mother and daughter pair.

When she makes it to the daughter's bedroom, she sets the box down and gives herself a moment to catch her breath. The girl is there, sorting through boxes on the floor. The majority of the furniture has already been moved in, so there are only a handful of boxes left before Ochako and her family can take off and go home.

Her eyes catch a familiar navy blazer and plaid skirt hanging on a hook on the wall.

"Hey, you're going to Yuuei?!" Ochako excitedly asks the girl. The brunette goes to sit on the soft carpet near her. "I go there! What year are you in? Do you know which class you'll be in yet?"

The girl looks slightly shocked, but then she averts her gaze awkwardly and answers slowly, "I'm a first year. I'll be in class 1-C…"

Ochako's eyes light up. "That's my class! What day are you coming? I can show you around." She grins.

"Um… they said I should come in as soon as we're all moved in." She says, looking pointedly at the boxes in the room.

Ochako jumps to her feet. "Oh, sorry! I guess I should get back to work then," she laughs sheepishly, trying and failing to scratch her cheek through her mover gloves. She turns to leave and bring up another box but then, "Oh, I didn't even ask your name. Mine's Uraraka Ochako. What's yours?"

The blonde blinks at her slowly, but then turns back to her boxes. Without looking at Ochako, she answers, "Toga Himiko."

"Nice to meet you, Toga-san!"

A woman walking past the doorway to Himiko's room pauses. "Yes?"

Ochako reddens. "O-Oh, so sorry, I meant your daughter."

"Oh, I see." She says simply, then continues on her way.

The brunette stands there awkwardly for a moment. "Your mom is pretty... I guess your blonde hair is natural, then?"

Isn't this girl a little too friendly or does she not even realize…? Toga gives the air in front of her an annoyed stare for a moment. "Yeah, I got my hair from her," she answers.

"Cool…" Ochako says awkwardly. "Can I call you 'Toga' instead? I don't want to confuse your mom while we're here…"

"Do whatever you want." Toga shrugs, and resolutely turns back to unpacking her box.

"Okay!" Ochako grins brightly, then turns and leaves in order to continue her work.

By the time the sun starts to set, Ochako, her father, and their part-timers finish the job. They bow to the pair of new residents. "Thank you for choosing Uraraka Moving Company!"

"Sure," Toga-san says cooly, tucking her wallet away. Her daughter stands a few steps away.

"See you at school, Toga!" Uraraka waves and she leaves with her family.

As they drive away, she texts her best friend Mina about what happened and plans out the tour she wants to give Toga when she finally comes to school.

I'm sure she'll love it… Yuuei is great!