"I'm doomed. There's no point in denying it," wailed Tetsutetsu.

Izuku looked up from his lunch, his attention now focused on his classmate who sat directly across from him at the table not touching his own meal. Rather, Tetsutetsu just sat there with his hands running through his hair as he stared wide-eyed into empty space. His expression looked like he had just seen all his worst nightmares come to life, combining themselves in order to throw the steel-hardening hero in training into a new level of terror. Midoriya was not the only one to notice this as several of the other people who sat there looked on with concern.

"Sir Tetsutetsu, come now," said Shishida politely, one of his hands gesturing to the steel quirk user as he did so. "There is no need to be so overly dramatic. It's only the second day of school and-"

"That's just it!" exclaimed Tetsutesu, interrupting his classmate while running his fingers through his hair. "It's only the second day of school and I'm already feeling lost. The classes here are harder than…Look, I barely passed the written portion of the exam! I had to guess over half the questions! I think I understood some of the stuff they told us in class. But only bits and pieces here and there! And it's only going to get harder as the year goes on! H-How am I going to pass the finals?! Oh, man. They're going to kick me out."

That got a hum out of one of the last guys sitting in their section of that table: Honenuki. Izuku watched as the recommendation student closed his eyes while crossing his arms across his chest. Since the dodgeball game yesterday, Izuku had been eager to get to know more about the softening quirk user. A gesture that had touched Honenuki as he thought that it would take a while for some people to get over how different he looked. But Izuku hadn't been bothered by it. And, when he found out that Honenuki was bilingual, able to speak both Japanese and English, Izuku quickly introduced him to Pony who was happy to meet another person who could speak her native tongue.

Finally, Honenuki spoke. "Well, it's only our first day of classes. I'm sure sooner or later you'll get the hang of it. Maybe just spend more time studying."

"I guess" replied Tetsutetsu with a sigh. "But I suck at studying. I always get distracted and end up lifting weights or working out."

"Tetsutetsu, if you are having trouble you know you can always ask us for help," said Kendo, who was sitting next to Izuku, while waving a finger in the air. "We're your classmates. My dad has this saying: one who is truly strong knows when to ask for help."

At the same time, Pony, who had been sitting next to Kendo, leaned forward to look at Tetsutetsu with those wide, excited eyes of hers. "Oh! I know! I know! Ask Izuku to help you study! He helped me improve my Japanese big time. And made it fun too!"

That got Tetsutetsu's attention. Lowering his hands, he looked at Midoriya with hope returning in his eyes. "Really? Can you help? Dude, you would be a real lifesaver!"

Izuku didn't say anything at first, simply putting his utensils down as he adopted a thinking pose. It wasn't that he was against helping out his classmate as he was eager to have a fresh start and make more friends while on the road to becoming a hero. It was more like he didn't know if he could do the same for him as he did for Pony. He had used her interests to bridge the gap in her education. So could he…

"Well, if the problem is just that he gets distracted easily then maybe studying in a group might be the best solution," pondered Midoriya aloud in a low mutter. "More people around him keep him focused and on task. But will that be enough? Tetesutetsu did mention the gym and working out. U.A. does have several gyms that are open to all students after hours. Perhaps we could reserve one of them for an hour or so every night so we can go over what we learned while lifting weights or on the treadmill. Get a workout and learn at the same time. Might be a problem with our focus so divided, but as long as we don't push ourselves too much we should get in a good workout both mentally and physically. Though-"

"Is…Is he always like this?" asked Honenuki.

Caught off guard by the sudden interruption while in the zone, Izuku nearly jumped out of his seat. Looking around, the Divine Divider saw that everyone was staring at him. Kendo, for example, was resting her head on her fist as she watched him ramble on with a soft smile on her face that caused his cheeks to tint red. Pony had stars in her blue eyes while Honenuki seemed worried. Shishida had a hand on his chin as he looked at his classmate, his expression almost hidden. And as for Tetsutetsu…

"Dude, where were you when I was studying to get into U.A?" the teen asked excitedly, hands balled into fists while an open smile that showed off his sharp teeth was present. "That actually sounds like fun! I can't wait to get started!"

"Well, before you get too excited, we need to find out if it's possible," said Itsuka as she sat up straight. "We need to talk to the teachers about reserving time at one of the gyms and we might not be able to get it every day. But I am pretty sure that we'll be able to get some time in the library pretty easily."

"Right," agreed Izuku as he nodded at his orange-haired friend, his body relaxing as a smile appeared on his face. "We should also ask the rest of the class to see if anyone needs any additional help. Or, at the very least, wants to join. We have a group chat for our class so I guess one of us could post it there and-"

"DEKU!" A half second after the green-haired teen heard that familiar scream of rage, his face was slammed onto the table and into his food. Struggling to breathe the teen felt his body slide across the surface followed by empty air for a brief moment before finally crashing into the ground. Coughing, Izuku managed to turn his head slightly just in time to see the feral visage of his attacker, Katsuki Bakugo, as he had already leapt over the table. His brain was still processing what was happening as an open palm slammed into the back of his head, pressing down with great force while a knee pressed down on the Divine Divider's wrist.

It has been so long since he had been in this position. Not since he first activated Divine Dividing, standing up to his bully for the first time since the playground. But now, taken aback by the suddenness of the attack, Izuku found himself paralyzed with fear. He couldn't move, thoughts as complex as pushing him off were too complicated at this moment. He could only lay there, feeling like his old self as he looked up in the corner of his eye at the person who had made his childhood a living nightmare.

"You damned, useless NERD!" screamed Bakugo, viens already in his eyes as he spat down that the teen beneath him. "Worthless stain! Damned Deku! Did you think we were done?! DID YOU?! Did you think I wouldn't see how close you were to my entrance score? With damned RESCUE POINTS?! Still looking down on me? Trying to make me look bad?!"

More pressure was added to Izuku's face, squishing it further into the ground. His bones were feeling like they were put into a press with the potential for them to break at any given moment. Only now could he hear movement all around him, shoes squeaking against the floor. But his eyes refused to look away from the angry red eyes above him even as spit flew from Bakugo's mouth every time he yelled. There was no mistaking it: Bakugo was beyond angry or livid. It was something else. And it scared Izuku that there could be another level of anger within the teen. More fear was added as the teen tried to reach Baukgo with his other hand but to no avale. From this position, his attacker was out of his reach.

"Now, you are going to answer my question you pathetic waste of space," demanded Bakugo as heat began to emanate from him palm. Heat that Midoriya knew all too well despite not experiencing it in some time. "Then you are going that your worthless ass out of my school! Either by you walking out on your own two feet or in a body bag!"

"That is highly uncalled for," came Shishida's voice. "Cease this utterly barbaric behavior my good sir at-"

"Mind your own business sasquatch!" yelled Bakugo without taking his eyes off of Izuku.

"Well, we tried to do this the civil way," said Itsuka. Half a second later the sound of flesh hitting flesh filled the lunchroom as Bakugo was knocked off of Izuku, tumbling onto the floor before rolling into a crouching position. Looking over to his side, the teen saw that it had been Itsuka who had come to his rescue. Her normal-sized fist still extended, she looked down at the ashen-haired teen with contempt. Then, after glancing back at Bakugo, Izuku saw a large bruise forming while a trickle of blood escaped from his lips.

"You damned extra. If you want to die so badly then so be it!" growled Bakugo, palms open as several mini explosions began to appear in his hands.

Izuku nearly trembled where he was as he saw the flash in Bakugo's eyes. He also noted that the others who had been seated at their table had already risen, determination in their eyes as the silence filled the room. Thankfully, something came in the nick of time to prevent things from escalating. That thing happened to be long bands of some sort of white cloth. They wrapped around Bakugo, pressing the teen's arms against his body as he fell to the ground. Everyone looked up to see, at the other end of the cloth, a man with long shaggy black hair and glowing red eyes. At the same time, another person came running towards Izuku which caused a brief surge of panic in the teen. Though he did relax a little when he saw that it was the girl he had saved back in the entrance exam, her eyes filled with concern at what had happened.

"Oh my…I-I saw what happened," said the brown-haired girl with the permanent blush. "Are you alright Deku?"

As the other 1-B students looked at Uraraka in shock, Izuku felt his heart sink deep into an abyss. Tears threatened to form in his eyes as he looked up at her. This was supposed to be a fresh start for him, a new beginning. That he could go the next three years without anyone calling him Deku! Well, everyone but Bakugo. But now? If she was already calling him that, how long till everyone else started calling him Useless? He must really look pathetic. He was taken out so easily, froze in fear, and needed someone else to save him. Some hero in training he turned out to be.

Breathing quickly, Izuku did the only thing he could think of: get away from everyone. He was aware he said something, yet the words didn't seem to register in his mind as he got to his feet before charging out of the lunchroom. No doubt everyone was watching him, judging him harshly. But he didn't have the mentality to worry about that now as he left the room and only stopped when he got to the first intersection in the hallway.

Once he stopped, Izuku bent slightly as he panted while resting his hands on his knees. He could hear Albion trying to talk to him, but his voice was jumbled within his mind. With each breath, he tried to clear it. Tried to get his thoughts in order and to think clearly.

"I was right about you," came a cold, emotionless voice from behind him. "You don't belong here."

All sound in Izuku's head vanished when he heard those words. Slowly he turned to see a man dressed in all black, his long and unkempt hair matching his attire. Quickly Izuku realized that this was the person who had stepped in, the cloth in one hand as he led Bakugo with him. But now the man's gaze was upon the Divine Divider, giving him a look that Izuku knew all too well.

He was being judged.

"I saw that pathetic display of yours in the entrance exam," he continued, moving in closer to Izuku as his eyes flashed red. "You clearly have little understanding of how to use your quirk properly and wasted time figuring it out on the battlefield. Did you even practice it at all? And now this."

Izuku could feel his heart beating faster, his legs becoming shaky as the man continued to glare at him. Words tried and failed to form in the teen's mouth creating further annoyance in the man standing before him. Said man then took a step closer.

"The only reason you are still here is that you were not placed in my class," said the man, now almost directly in front of Izuku. "Believe me, I would have removed you on the first day for being a-"

"Aizawa, that's enough!" As the words were spoken, the large meaty hand of Vlad King slammed into Aizawa's shoulder. This act had surprised both Bakugo and Izuku, neither of whom even noticed the man approaching. But not Awiaza who simply turned to give the taller man an annoyed look. For a while, neither man said anything before the dark man began to walk away with Bakugo in tow.

Then…

"You know I'm right." And with that, Aizawa walked away from the pair with Bakugo in tow without looking back.

-x-

"Tea?" asked Kan.

Not trusting his voice, Izuku nodded his head as he kept his eyes on the small table separating him from his homeroom teacher. The young man just sat there on a couch in the teacher's lounge, his standard uniform replaced with his gym tracksuit. He was aware that the door was locked, giving them privacy that did little to calm the teen down. As he heard the tea being poured into their cups, his mind went to all of the worst-case scenarios. No doubt Vlad was going to expel him like how that other teacher had wanted. Just in a calmer atmosphere. Why wouldn't they? The school had just seen how pathetic he had handled a sneak attack followed by the way he had reacted. Clearly, they would say that he wasn't cut out for the hero course if he couldn't handle that.

And with Albion now going silent, he felt all the more certain that he was right. Perhaps even the soul of the ancient dragon no longer wanted anything to do with him.

Then, the tea was placed before Izuku.

"I want to apologize for what Aizawa said to you," said Vlad King in a gentle tone. One that seemed to contradict his very appearance. "It was certainly something you didn't need to hear after what you just went through. Though harsh, the man means well."

Izuku said nothing as he took up his cup and took a sip, his eyes still downcast. Then, after a moment, he spoke.

"Was he right?" began Izuku before pausing to swallow the lump in his throat. "Is the reason I'm even still here because you didn't place me in his class?"

For a moment, silence filled the room. Despite not looking up at the man before him, he knew there was no doubt a war going on in Vlad King's brain. To be honest, lie, or deflect. Then, finally, the man spoke.

"It…is possible," said Vlad with a heavy sigh. "Aizawa has a bit of a reputation for expelling students that do not meet his standards, regardless of how well they do in the entrance exam. One time he even expelled an entire class. But, despite this, he does not want to expel you."

Midoriya looked up in surprise, nearly dropping his tea as he stared at the man in disbelief. Now he saw that his homeroom teacher was holding the small cup in his hands, looking down at it with his eyes half lid as if remembering something.

"He was critical of how much time you wasted during the exam," continued the blood-themed hero. "How you did not use your quirk right away and, when you did use it, you began flying around out of control. With that said, he was mildly impressed that you managed to get some control over it in such a short amount of time. That as well as taking down the zero-pointer without getting hurt or putting anyone else's well-being at risk. So he recommended that you be sent into General Studies with the option to be moved into the Hero Course once you got a better handle on your quirk. However, myself, Principal Nezu, and the other teachers felt otherwise."

The large man then paused to take a sip from his drink. Then, when he looked at Izuku again, there was something of curiosity in his gaze.

"Now, I'm sure you know that U.A. does background checks on all of our students for obvious reasons," he said, Izuku simply nodding back in confirmation. "Normally, we scrutinize any reported misconduct ranging from quirk misusage to arrests. If we require a better understanding of the situation or that said potential student has learned and moved on then that student is called in so we can question them. Others we simply discard without a second thought. But perhaps some of us pay a little too much attention to that part and miss other things. Like, for example, both myself and Nezu noticed that you changed your quirk registration almost a year ago. And, originally, you were declared quirkless."

Izuku nodded again before going into the story he had told so many people thus far. How he had discovered that the reason everyone, including himself, had thought that he was quirkless was that his body hadn't been strong enough to handle his quirk. He intentionally remained vague on how he had discovered this, not wanting there to be more bad blood between himself and Bakugo. And, thankfully, Vlad never pressed the issue nor did he interrupt his student as he continued the story of how hard he worked to get his body into shape. About how, at the entrance exam, he wasn't one hundred percent sure that Divine Dividing worked on machines as well as wanting to see what he could do on his own. And that when he did activate his quirk was the first time he had discovered the wings and, well, the first time he had ever flown.

It was only when Izuku had finished his story that Vlad spoke once more, his voice filled to the brim with understanding. "I see. From what I am hearing, your quirk is still developing. No doubt due to coming in so late in the game. Well, considering that, I'm honestly a bit more impressed that you came so far in such a short amount of time. Now you have me curious to see what you'll be like at the end of the year!"

Izuku could now see an almost feral grin on Vlad's face. But, unlike Bakugo's feral expressions, this one held less of the murderous glint in the eyes and was replaced with excitement. Seeing it almost flew Izuku through a loop. But before the teen could dwell on it much longer, Vlad's expression softened.

"I'm sure it wasn't easy thinking you were quirkless for so long." said the pro hero shoftly.

"It wasn't…" Izuku's words cracked as he began to deny the truth of what it had been like. To dismiss it all like it had just been no big deal, a bit of rain that ruined what was supposed to be a sunny day. But his own voice had already betrayed him and already the pro hero sitting before him was giving him a look that said he already didn't buy that. So, Izuku spoke honestly. "Deku. I-I don't know if anyone told you, but that's the name Ka, er, Bakugo called me. It's the name a lot of people knew me as growing up. Useless. That's how I was made to feel for years. I was mocked for just wanting to have the same dreams as the rest of my class. For just wanting to help people. That's all I wanted to do. Yeah, I was stupid for not working out more if I wanted to be a hero. I realized that a while ago. I eventually did put in the hard work but…maybe I'll always be a Deku. If I freeze up like I did in the lunchroom, unable to fight back, then how can I ever be expected to do the same when I'm fighting a real live villain? Maybe Mr. Aizawa is right and I should just-"

Izuku was silenced when Vlad reached across the table to gently place a hand on his shoulder.

"Midoriya, you are certainly not the first student I've seen freeze up when taken by surprise," said the man firmly. "And you certainly won't be the last. I won't hold it against you especially since you were in a place where you thought you were safe. So go a little easier on yourself and we can work on it."

"R-Really?" asked Izuku.

"Of course," said Kan with a nod while removing his hand from Izuku's shoulder as he leaned back into his seat. "We train our heroes to deal with a number of different situations that can happen out in the field. That includes how to deal with unexpected attacks. Now, how are you feeling?"

Izuku blinked at that. Slowly, it began to dawn on him that he was feeling better. The panic he had been feeling was lessening, his mind now thinking far more clearly. Like how that girl had called him Deku. Of course, she didn't know his name as they had never really spoken. She no doubt heard Bakugo screaming it at the top of his lungs and, for some reason, assumed it was his name. Hopefully thinking it was his surname or something. Looking back at his homeroom teacher, Izuku saw a sad smile on the face of the blood-themed hero.

"I sort of know what you're going through," said Vlad King. "Believe it or not, I was bullied pretty bad back before I started my hero training."

Again, Izuku blinked at what he heard while his mouth hung open slightly.

"Y-You were?" asked Izuku, mouth slightly hanging open as his mind tried to process this. He knew a lot about the career of Vlad King. While not to the extent of All Might, but he did have several pages dedicated to the man sitting before him in a notebook back home. And in all the vidoes as well as pictures in articles he had seen the man in, Vlad King always appeared so strong. So powerful and focused. It was mind blowing to even consider that anyone would think to bully him.

Vlad King, however, nodded.

"A lot of people get unnerved by blood quirks," began the man as he looked down into his teacup. "It's a primal thing to grow uneasy when you see it, ten times more so when there's a scrawny kid that can manipulate his own blood. Got pushed around a lot, bullied, and called things like 'that creepy vampire'. One day I even found jars of pig blood stuffed into my locker, the people around me laughing it up and asking if that was my lunch."

Izuku gulped as a question burned in his mind.

"Did leaving that place help?" he asked.

"It did," replied Vlad King as he looked back up at his student. "When I started my hero training, I found that most of the people there were more accepting of me. Those that weren't didn't get very far. Some of them never made it past Sidekick when they graduated. But, some of that stuff stuck with me. Especially the things they said to me. There would be times when I could almost hear their voices in the back of my head. Then there were times when I would just snap at people when they made certain comments. It's…not as easy to escape that kind of stuff. It just seems to haunt you like a ghost, appearing and disappearing without a trace."

"C-Can I ask how you were able to…get past that?" asked Izuku.

"Of course!" answered Vlad with a smile, one that showed off his fangs. "The first thing I needed to do was admit that what they said hurt. Let it out. Then I found friends I could talk to, ones I trusted and who were willing to listen to me vent when I needed it. And, finally, I took the names they used to insult me and I owned them! It's the reason I decided that my hero name would be a reference to the inspiration of Dracula. Once I owed it, I took away all the power those people had."

Shortly after that, Izuku Midoriya left the teacher's lounge feeling infinitely better. He managed to head back to the classroom where a worried Itsuka and Pony were waiting for him along with the rest of the class. He was embarrassed yet glad at the same time to see that there were so many people who were worried about him.

"That ruffian!" declared Shishida as he adjusted his glasses. "Attacking anyone when their back is turned is the mark of a coward!"

"I knew he was bad news. Shroom," cried Komori, her own hands balled into fists. "I'm just glad he's in 1-A. Can you imagine what would have happened if he was here with us? Or if Midoriya was in 1-A with him? Shroom!"

Izuku smiled at their words.

"So, does anyone know what happened to Bakugo?" he asked as he turned to the rest of the class. "The guy who attacked me?"

Itsuka made a face that showed she wasn't happy. "Yeah. Tokage overheard some of the teachers while we were looking for you." As if to punctuate that statement, Tokage's eyes and ears separated from her body and began to move around on their own. Along with her mouth that was twisted into a sharp-toothed grin as Kendo continued to talk. "According to her, Principal Nezu was furious about the attack and wanted to expel that Bakugo kid. But that jerk Aizawa stepped in and managed to get him a suspension. He'll be back when they start rescue training in a couple of days."

"Oh, that's bullshit!" This statement by Awase was quickly shared by the rest of the class. Even Shiozaki seemed enraged with this, her hair slashing around like dozens of angry snakes. It seemed like too much of a slap on the wrist for attacking another student completely unprovoked. But perhaps there was going to be more to his punishment like he would be missing something important in class or something.

Some of the class even wondered if the reason they didn't expel the jerk was that the school feared unleashing such a ticking time bomb on the world.

However, their speculations had to be put on hold as Vlad entered the room, ready to give a lecture on proper heroing laws.

The next day, 1-B discovered what the angry blonde had missed out on as the door opened and All Might himself almost seemed to soar into the room before landing in front of Vlad's podium. Stars were in Izuku's eyes as he looked up at the number one hero. He stood there, dressed in his current hero costume while making a V for victory sign as a bright smile shone on his face.

"Greetings you bunch of newbies," announced the number one hero. "I, All Might, am here to teach you the ropes in what I like to call Heroing 101! And, just like your sister class, I will be pulling no punches as we start our battle training!"