Greetings, everyone!

I want to thank all of you for taking the time to read this story. If you are interested, there will be an author's note at the end of this chapter that will explain all the little details about this story going forward. You don't have to read it, but it will clarify a few things since this story will follow the cannon events in My Hero Academia, but with my own little spin to it.

Basically, this in an AU where Izuku Midoriya is a part of class 1B instead of class 1A, and the resulting changes that follow.

I really hope you guys enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoy writing it!

Disclaimer: This story will be slow going, and I tend to be a bit excessive with words. I apologize in advance if this bothers you.

I do not own My Hero Academia.

"1B…1B…1B…"

Izuku Midoriya ran through the surprisingly empty halls of Yuuei High, his excitement and his anxiety giving his poor heart the workout of a lifetime as he searched for his homeroom. All the while, he couldn't help but let his mind race over anything and everything. Thoughts of his mother, All Might, his acceptance into Yuuei, his new quirk and about twenty other things swam through his head as he looked and looked for class 1B's homeroom.

Finally, he found the huge door, which stood at least 6 meters tall and at least 1 and a half meters wide. What a giant door… guess they have to make it accessible for everyone, right? As he reached out to slide the door open, he gulped as images of his childhood friend Kacchan and the really scary guy with glasses from the entrance exam flooded his thoughts. He couldn't help it as his legs quivered a bit, and he sent a silent prayer to whoever was listening, hoping against hope that he would be spared and one, or preferably both, of those boys were in the other class on the other side of the hall.

He reached out with a slightly shaking hand, bracing himself for the worst, and began to open the door…

…And for once in his life, his prayers were answered. Although the lack of yelling should have sufficed as enough verification, he still spent a solid three seconds looking around the classroom. After he confirmed that his mind wasn't playing tricks on him, he took a shaky step in.

There were many students mingling about in the room, and none of them really seemed to pay him any mind besides a small glance towards the door as they heard it open. They were all socializing before the bell in mixed groups of their own making, each and every one of them different in their own way. Looking around as he walked in, he counted nineteen people. Izuku looked around for the open seat that was left, and finally saw it on the other side of the room by the windows.

The classroom itself was surprisingly spacious, about 12 meters wide by 15 meters long with five large windows on the opposite side of the two doors that led into the classroom. As he walked into the room, the teacher's desk was to his left along with the chalkboard, filing cabinets, and small bookshelves. On the chalkboard, someone- most likely the teacher- had written in big, underlined letters, 'Sit wherever you want.'

No syllabary order for seating? That's... pretty cool! Izuku thought, as his mind flashed back to the many years he was forced to sit behind Kacchan, due to the nature of their last names.

The back of the classroom had twenty cubbyhole cabinets, accompanied by a bigger supply cabinet that was probably holding paper, books, and pens, among other things. The bigger supply closet was close to the rear entrance of the classroom, and between the two doors, there were a series of twenty lockers, each numbered 1 through 20 and accompanied by a high-tech lock. There were four rows of desks with five desks each, and all the desks were equally spaced and comfortable looking. The one that Izuku was heading to was the middle desk in the farthest row by the windows. In fact, this desk in particular was right next to a window, overlooking the view to what he assumed was one of the many training grounds.

As he approached the desired desk, he saw three clusters of people somewhat around the area. One of the clusters was a group of three girls, chatting quietly among themselves.

One of the girls sat in the desk right behind the one he wanted, and he had to do a double take. Uraraka!... Oh… it's just someone who looks like her… Izuku couldn't help the disappointment he felt as he began to notice the differences between the nice girl that helped him in the entrance exam and the one before him. They had similar hair styles and hair colors; the only difference was that this girl had bangs that covered her eyes, and her hair was a few shades lighter. She also looked to be a bit smaller than Uraraka.

The other two girls sat themselves in the desk across from hers in the next row and in the desk behind that one, both leaning into the conversation so that they could quietly participate. The one that was across from not-Uraraka had ashen-gray, chin length hair, parted to the right to reveal one of her deep blue eyes. The entire left side of her face was obscured by her hair, and as she spoke to not-Uraraka, she kept making unusual hand gestures.

The girl behind her had a short black bob cut that reached her shoulders. Although she too had bangs, hers were cut short so that everyone could see her clear azure eyes, as well as the rather neutral expression on her face. Her occasional nods appeared to be the only contributions she had for their conversation.

None of the three girls seemed to really seemed to notice that Izuku was observing them as he got closer; while this was nothing new for the nervous boy, he honestly preferred it that way.

Another cluster consisted of two more girls, who seemed to be in a rather heated debate with a fairly intense looking guy. Or rather, one of the girls was fiercely arguing while the other simply looked like she was enjoying the squabble in front of her.

The guy in question had a muscular build with messy, steel-colored hair, and during his intense arguing, Izuku noticed that his teeth were all razor-sharp. He also had thick markings around his slate colored eyes that were tan colored, making him appear even more aggressive than the vibe he was giving off.

The girl he was arguing against for unknown reasons had a tomboyish air about her. Her orange-red hair was gathered into a messy side-ponytail, with the rest of her hair sticking out just as wildly as the guy she was talking to. She had expressive, teal eyes that were conveying the deep exasperation she was undoubtedly feeling, probably from the situation she had found herself in.

The last girl, who was sitting cross-legged on top of the desk right next to the one Izuku wanted, had dark, mossy green, wavy hair that reached just past her shoulders. Her eyes, which were the shade of darkened malachite, sparkled with mischief and confidence. Her smile and laughter also showed a full set of pointed teeth like the intense looking guy, but where the guy's teeth were more shark-like in nature, hers were pointed in a way similar to a monitor lizards.

As Izuku was observing this cluster, she must have sensed his eyes on them because the next thing he knew, her eyes traveled from the argument before her to meet his gaze. When their eyes met, her smile grew slightly wider and friendlier.

Izuku quickly averted his gaze, his cheeks tinged pink with the embarrassment that he had been caught red-handed observing them, knowing it could very easily be taken as blatant staring. He shook his head to stop his increasingly panicked thoughts, and did his best to ignore the curious stare of the girl whose attention he just caught.

He turned his own attention to the last cluster, who was actually just one guy sitting at the desk in front of the one Izuku wanted. He had short, light blue hair, black beady eyes, and a round face; he also had a little bit of a chubbier frame, as well as a shorter stature. Not wanting to bother the guy- who was minding his own business with his phone pulled out- but also not really having a choice since he could not, for the life of him, talk to girls, he hesitantly tapped on the guy's desk.

As the guy looked up curiously, Izuku had to swallow some of his nerves from getting the better of him. "H-hi! I-Is there anyone s-sitting behind you?!"

He really hoped the guy in front of him wouldn't make a big deal out of his squeaky, nervous, high pitched voice...

To his relief, he did not. "Yeah man, seat's empty. Go right ahead."

"T-thanks!"

As soon as Izuku settled down in his new seat and got appropriately situated, the bell rang and with it the other students of class 1-B rushed to get to their own seats. As soon as the bell stopped ringing, the door to the classroom opened, and in walked a man with an imposing figure. Except, in Izuku's eyes, he was much more than a man…

He was a pro hero.

The pro strode into the classroom, his gait and presence as impressive as his appearance. The hero before them towered over the students, probably standing more than 200 centimeters tall. His shoulders were widely set, accompanied by his thick neck and the bulging muscles all over his well- built body. His lightly tanned skinned complimented the blood red of his uniform, as well as contrasted against the whites of his large gauntlets and his knee high boots. He also sported a white three piece belt, and there was a tube from one of his gauntlets connecting to some kind of device attached to his back.

Upon his face sat an orange mask covering narrow red eyes, and directly underneath it he had a small x-shaped scar on his left cheek, with two protruding canines coming from his lower square jaw. On his head sat a mop of spiky salt and pepper hair, and his shoulders sported a striped black design, which mixed well with the red of his bodysuit.

This man was none other the Blood Hero: Vlad King, and he was the homeroom teacher for class 1B.

As Vlad King strode to the front of the classroom, he took a moment to glance over his charges for the year. Seemingly satisfied with what he saw, he nodded to himself, leaned against his desk, cleared his throat, and began to address the class in his deep, authoritative tone.

"Good morning class. As some of you may know, I am Kan Sekijiro, otherwise known as Vlad King: the Blood Hero. This year, I will be your homeroom teacher. I will be the one in charge of your general well-being, as well as the one who will plan your school schedules and your internships, among the other various training opportunities available to all of you as you strive towards the heroes you seek to become."

"If you have any problems, come seek me out and I will help you to the best of my ability. If you are struggling in any areas, ask and I will give you as much assistance as I can. However, just because I am willing to aid you when you need it does not mean that I will carry you to whatever goal you have in mind- you got here on your own strength, and you will succeed, or fail, by your own merit."

"Each of you are among the chosen elite, handpicked by myself and the other teachers of the hero course from over 60,000 students who applied to this great institution. Each of you has the potential to become a great hero, greater even than the ones you see roaming this school. But most of all, each and every one of you has earned the right for a spot in this course, until I say you haven't. So, make sure you take this course seriously; there are literally thousands of students who are, even now, fighting to sit at the seats you have been given. Some are even in this school, in the other courses."

"This is the most basic responsibility of those who answer the call to be a Hero- to win the constant battle against all enemies, both the ones that can be seen and the ones that can't. To be ever vigilant and enduring on your journey forwards, this is what it means to be Plus Ultra. And if you cannot keep up with these basic requirements, you will see yourself removed from the program."

As the class stared at him in astonishment, motivation slowly began to flow freely into all their souls. There were already those who were excited at the sight of a pro hero teaching them (such as a certain green haired youth who had begun to whisper and write in his journal so fervently that it was borderline fanatical, to the point that his neighbors were subtly scooting away from him and shooting bewildered looks at his direction.), but who knew that right from the start, their teacher would have a speech like that?! To the young heroes, it was all that was needed to start their journey forward.

Slowly, the buzz of excitement grew, and without even speaking or anything, the class unanimously agreed that they could not wait to see what the year had in store for them. But before any of them could get too carried away, Vlad King rose his hand, effectively stopping all the conversations instantly.

"I'm glad everyone is excited to get started! This is what I love to see the most, the young striving to be better, seeking to prove their worth. But, today is quite a busy day for us." He turned his torso towards his desk and picked up a clipboard, flipping through it and nodding to himself as he scanned the list before him. "Today, we have the entrance ceremony, guidance sessions… and then after lunch, you will be performing quirk assessment tests."

"Oh, come on!" a kid towards the back of the class grumbled loudly enough for the pro to hear as he leaned back in his chair. He had long black hair pulled back by a wide white and blue zigzag patterned headband, and grey eyes filled with disbelief. "It's the first day of school, and we already have a fucking test?!"

Slightly irritated, the hero glanced at his roster to confirm who had made the comment. "Yes, Awase, you already have a fucking test," growled Vlad King.

That immediately shut up everybody in the classroom, and the one who spoke out of turn, Awase, found himself slinking a little further into his chair. Taking a deep breath, the teacher closed his eyes and opened them again as he exhaled. "I apologize for the outburst; that was not very professional." There was an awkward silence as he cleared his throat, and then he continued on as if nothing had happened.

"As you already know, this is Yuuei High School. The standards for success here are the highest among all of the institutions in Japan, and probably the entire world as well. I can guarantee that while you attend this school, the trials will be harder and the hurdles will be higher than anything you've ever faced before. One of those trials just so happens to be a quirk assessment test, were everyone will have to use their quirks in a number of different exercises as a way to gauge the overall mastery of your own ability."

"If you came here expecting this to be some sort of cakewalk, thinking you could treat this education the same as you would for any normal high school... then you're in for a rude awakening." He glared at the kid who made the comment, who at least had the decency to look away, coughing in embarrassment.

"Allow me to say this once: if you're here just to play around and be a teenager… if you're here just for kicks, or if you're here on a whim, then do everyone in this building a favor and leave. Before I make you. The world is not kind to heroes who do not take their job seriously."

Following his rant was a tense silence as everybody digested his words fully. And here I had them all nice and motivated too Vlad King groaned to himself. After a few moments of silence, he cleared his throat and looked at the clock.

"Well, class, we do have a few minutes before we have to head down to the entrance ceremony. Starting from this column," he indicated the one closest to the door, "everyone please get up, one at a time, and collect one of each textbook." He then bent down behind his desk to lift up a large box and placed it on top, opening it to reveal the gym clothes that were inside. "After you have collected all your textbooks, come up one at a time, tell me your size, and you will receive four sets of these. You'll need them later for your quirk assessment tests."

For the next fifteen minutes, textbooks were collected, and gym clothes, notebooks, pens, pencils, guidebooks, schedules, outlines, and a few other pieces of important paperwork were passed out. There was light chatter as Vlad King watched over his new students and observed their behaviors and interactions. The class had a good mix of social butterflies and isolationists, and for the most part the atmosphere seemed to be pretty relaxed and friendly, with a few really excitable people mixed in.

Even though he didn't show it, he couldn't wait to see what the future held for these kids.

Soon enough, it was time to leave for the entrance ceremony. After the students got into syllabary order, Class 1B headed down to the ceremonial hall, which was actually more of an outdoor amphitheater. As the students were waiting for the ceremony to start, many found themselves gawking excitedly at all the sites to be seen and at all the different classes and heroes that were showing up. Vlad King also looked around, but unlike his students, he was actually looking for something- or rather, someone- in particular.

Sure enough, the other first year hero class, headed by Eraserhead, was not here for the ceremony... and the Blood Hero found his mood slightly soured. Of course they're not here. I bet they're already taking their quirk assessment tests. Figures. Aizawa decided to get a head start for his students. The year's just started, and I'm already falling behind as an instructor...

He blew out a long breath through his mouth, before a sudden thought made him snort in mild humor. And of course. Aizawa would use the quirk assessment tests to get out of the entrance ceremony. Hell, he's probably going to get out of guidance sessions too, if the tests take longer than anticipated.

Although… can't really say I blame him. He finished bitterly, biting down a groan as the ceremony was about to begin. Sensei does enjoy his speeches a little too much sometimes…

After a solid two hours of speeches, announcements, singing and whatnot, it was time to head back to the classroom and start their 'guidance sessions.' As they entered the classroom, the teacher made his way to his desk and leaned against it once more, patiently waiting until all his students were seated and he had their attention. He then held up a CD disk and showed it to them as he made his way around to his own computer.

"Listen up! The curriculum mandates that I show you this hour and a half long video that will essentially be your 'guide' to Yuuei High School, telling you about what to expect when you're here, and so on. It is supposed to also act as a set of instructions for you to follow, in order for you to begin your transition into heroism… but in reality, it's just a waste of time."

The sudden bluntness of his statements made his students perk up and do double takes, as if to verify if they misheard things. Quietly amused by their reactions, he continued on.

"So, here's the deal. I'm going to play this video, and keep it at a decent volume. I don't care what you do, so long as you don't destroy my damn classroom. If you need to use the restroom, go one at a time. Other than that, don't leave the classroom. I have some things I need to take care of in preparation for your quirk assessment tests, and they require me to leave the classroom unattended for a while. Please be the young heroes-in-training the world expects you to be, and do NOT let another teacher catch you doing something stupid. That is all. Any questions?"

The students, all collectively realizing that a golden opportunity had just landed right in their laps, all spoke out, "No sir!" in unison. Seemingly satisfied with the answer, the hero turned around to get the video and projector set up and started before he walked out of the classroom. Moments before the door closed, he heard many of his students strike up a few lively conversations with their neighbors before the sound was completely cut out. Kids will be kids, he thought as he rolled his eyes in exasperation.

Soon enough, he found his way to the corridor that led to the teacher's computer room, a place the teachers go to do their work in peace with their peers, and walked through the door.

The room was already empty when he got there, which was fine by him. Turning on a computer and logging in, he began to look for what he needed: video records of the quirk assessment grounds, Field Alpha, where class 1A should be finishing up right about now.

At Yuuei, the school was equipped with all the latest and greatest technology, mostly courtesy of the support companies that back them up, as well as whatever the support course students were able to produce every now and then. That meant that each of their training grounds, even the least impressive ones, were well equipped with all sorts of goodies, including but not limited to robots run on (relatively) simple AI software. These robots had all sorts of functions, from running combat simulations to training assistance, and everything in between.

But the ones at the quirk assessment grounds were different- they were there solely for recording purposes and data collection, to assist the teachers on examining a student's proficiency with their quirk, and to report on areas that needed improvement.

Having a teacher ID allowed him to access these archives and observe them in real-time, or at any time of the recording that he desired. Vlad King opted to access the archives right at the beginning, to see how 1A had faired in their assessments. Pulling out pen and paper, and a calculator as well, he started the recordings and readied himself to take notes on the scores of the students in 1A.

After he saw Eraserhead threaten his students with expulsion, he watched all of them perform to the best of their ability. He wasted no time in writing down their records for each event and scored them according to the equations that Nezu Sensei had made some time ago, long before he was even a teacher at Yuuei.

Man, Aizawa sure has an impressive bunch this year Vlad King thought as he continued to see high score after high score produced in the other hero course. I see he has yet to deviate from his negative reinforcement methods, although I can't say I blame him. They sure do produce results…

In the pit of his stomach, Vlad King felt a pang of jealousy. Ever since he had agreed to work at Yuuei, he couldn't help but to compare his group's progress to Aizawa's. He saw it from the beginning, during his first year of teaching when he was still new to the concept and just went with what was the standard curriculum while his counterpart did things his own way.

He saw with his own eyes just how much behind his class was compared to the other teacher's. Their test score averages, internship and work study reports, quirk proficiencies, heroic achievements, overall behavior… even though both classes had every member graduate, and both classes went on to become heroes of their own, nearly every aspect of Eraserhead's kids was far greater than what his own students were capable of, both on paper and in practice.

He didn't like that. Not one bit. Especially since it was always like that, every year- any group that was taught by the erasure hero was consistently good in every aspect, while his own always seemed to just... trail behind.

It had nothing to do with the aptitude of the students either, as they both have had their share of geniuses and dunces, the talented and the lacking throughout both of their teaching careers. To be certain, they both had produced excellent students fit to be a hero, but it just… felt like Vlad King himself was lacking as a teacher, especially whenever he saw the heroes that his coworker produced. Which in turn, made him feel inadequate, like the students he taught were getting the poor end of the deal in regards to their heroic education. And that was not ok.

After he saw how big the difference was during his first year of teaching, he strived and struggled to become a better teacher, to be more and do more than what was the standard. It took years of absorbing Nezu Sensei's theories and practices on education to understand how to apply himself in the best way he could for his students. It took several failed attempts at guidance sessions and development planning for him to finally be able to determine a child's needs, and then to help them grow accordingly.

Gradually, he improved as a teacher- and as his skills were honed his pupils improved with them- and together they strove for their goals. It wasn't as glamorous or as hard as being a hero, but Vlad King discovered that it was well worth it to see a struggling student not only pass, but conquer an issue that had them stuck for weeks. After years of struggling, he felt that he was now finally within reach of the high standard that his counterpart had made.

He was hoping that- after years of his own progress that, in-turn, lead to his students to excel beautifully- this year's Class 1B would finally be the ones to bring himself up to the bar that Eraserhead had set so long ago. It was a long journey, but well worth it. Along the way, he not only improved himself for the sake of the future heroes to come through the school, but he also discovered a few things that seemed to bring out the best in him, and in turn, his students. Things like how his own competitive nature was infectious, and helped to promote ambition, perseverance, and motivation, among other favorable traits. Traits that he planned to use and exploit for the betterment of his new group of promising first years.

Regardless of how anything went down, he was certain that the students of this year's first year hero class were definitely going to be extraordinary.

As promised, here is the section that will go a little more in-depth on the story that I'm working on.

As I've said before, this is basically an AU where Izuku is in 1B instead of 1A. I've read and glanced over my fair share of MHA fanfiction and I know that many great authors have produced many unique stories in this universe. But... I don't think I've seen too many stories that include class 1B as the main cast. (That's not to say that they don't exist. On the contrary, I hope they do, and if so, I would love it if someone recommended a few of them to me.)

So with that in mind, I figured I would create my own, one sentence at a time. Besides, with season 5 coming up, I figured that those who only watch the anime might want a little bit of a head's up on who's-who. (Also, on a side note, I will include manga spoilers in my story, as I do keep up to date with the latest chapters of this amazing series. I will be sure to include them in the disclaimers from here on out, so please, read at your own peril.)

But, with 1B being the main cast, I do want to make a few things clear to the readers.

1. There isn't really much to go on, as far as material related to students in 1B, save for Tetsutetstu, Kendo, Shiozaki, Monoma... and maybe Awase. So, I may have to whip out the wiki every now and then, and I also may have to create my own content. So, if you are concerned with characters being OOC, I understand completely- please know that I will do my best to make sure they stay as true to their character as I can make it.

2. There will be less involvement with the students in 1A. That means that everyone's favorites (Todoroki, Yao-momo, Bakugo, Uraraka, etc.) will probably not be a major player in my story. That also means, however, that since Izuku is a part of 1B, certain things in 1A won't happen... Like certain characters developing the way they do according to the cannon events in MHA. Certain events that include class 1A specifically will also be altered slightly to make it fit with the story. So if you were hoping to see Todoroki learn to be at peace with his fire, or if you were wanting to see Bakugo grow up and stop being a brat among other things... I'm sorry to say, but this story may not be for you. Class 1A has had plenty of opportunity to shine- it's time for 1B to have a bit of the spotlight.

3. This story will definitely have a slower pace to it, at least at the beginning. As I've said before, there is hardly any content on the other 19 kids in 1B, so I would like to explore that. That means friendships will have to develop, romances will probably bloom, rivalries will start, and the kids will need to have a life of their own. Also, there are 19 new quirks that need to be explained, and honestly, 1B has a lot of really cool ones! Twin Impact, Black, Weld, Lizard Tail Splitter... Everyone knows the ins and outs of 1A's quirks, so I think it's only fair 1B get the same treatment too.

4. Izuku will NOT be more powerful in this setting. At least... not directly. He will have a few different experiences, and learn a few new ways to handle himself, but overall, his power level won't be too different from what it is canonically at that point of time in the manga. Also, for the sake of continuity, everything, all the way to right before Izuku enters 1B's classroom, will be the same as it is in the manga/anime, except for one particular event. (I will cover that event in a few chapters.)

5. Sadly, I probably won't be able to update regularly, but I will do my best to update as much as I can. In addition, I will attempt to include the proper honorifics in dialogue. So for those of you who are fluent in Japanese and/or are familiar with their beautiful culture, I humbly ask that you tell me if I get something wrong, and I will do my best to fix it.

6. I do not own the cover art for this story, but if anyone knows who does, I will be more than happy to source the material. Just pretend that Monoma is actually Izuku, and you got yourself this year's class 1B according to the story (again, I will explain this in a future chapter.) Also, just a thought, would you guys like me to show you the seating arrangements in 1B?

If you guys have any questions, comments, or concerns, please don't be afraid to ask them via Review and/or PM. Thanks again for taking the time to read the story, and the author's note, and I hope to catch you guys again in the next chapter!